Is This Reality?
by AlloraStar217
Summary: When the owner of one of the greatest franchises offers the chance to become one your favorite characters, you jump at the chance. Even if it's over a cliff edge. Karen Volstead chose to test the new VR game, but are things really what they seem to be? Forced into isolation with 29 other players, how is the world to know what is happening? What is the definition a soul?
1. Prelude

**Is This Reality? A fanfiction by AlloraStar217**

 **Author's note: This story is based on G1 Transformers, some of the multiverse, and Hasbro, the company that owns most of the cast of this story. This story is also based solely on a dream I had not too long ago. I had to get it out of my head. Enjoy.**

* * *

Prelude

"Karen! Get in here!" Sasha shouted from our apartment's idea of a living room. It was really a kitchen that mutated into a couch and entertainment station. I was currently working on a paper discussing what Robocop represents to society.

Looking up from my mini computer/tablet, "What? I'm trying to finish this paper by midnight."

"You have to see this!"

Rolling my eyes, "Is it about a company beta testing a new VR game?"

"Yyyeeeessss!"

"Then I don't need to see it." Ever since the animes Sword Art Online, Log Horizon, and the gaming system Oculus Rift came out, the rush to create the first full dive VR system has blanketed the media. Every news story has been about companies creating new equipment, bringing in players, and failed results every time. There didn't seem to be any companies left who hadn't tried to create the perfect full dive system, a system that would completely transplant your brain into a virtual body. It was quickly becoming apparent to me that it just was not possible to have your consciousness completely free of your body. Your body needs it to function; otherwise, it would fall into a vegetative state. Without your consciousness, without your soul, how was your body to survive?

Turning back to my computer, I kept typing. _RoboCop's ability to overcome the oppressive programming on his emotions shows…_

"It's Hasbrooo~" Sasha sing-songed.

Pausing in my typing, "Hasbro?"

"And you'll never guess what they're basing this new game off of."

No, it can't be. She wouldn't tease me about that. She knows how addicted to it I am. My Pinterest board has over four thousand pics of that one branch of their empire. My Fanfiction account only follows authors and stories that use those characters. She can't be talking about…

"Transformers."

"Turn up the volume and don't you dare turn it off," I shouted as I scrambled over my bed in order to reach the hallway faster. Rushing past the eggshell walls, family pictures flash past the corner of my eye. If I had slowed, I would have seen my high school graduation, Sasha and I jumping off of a waterfall together, and last Christmas' family photo. I didn't slow down, though; all I could focus on at that moment was Transformers VR.

"Scoot over," jumping over the back of the plaid couch; I landed on Sasha's left. She had the remote and was currently turning up the volume. The TV was showing a businessman in a black suit and a red tie speaking into a microphone.

"After years of research on virtual reality gaming equipment and software, Hasbro has decided to begin the beta testing of the new Transformers game, Revolution. This game will not be based on the online game Transformers Universe, but will be based on the game Devastation, in that it will have a small team of Autobots based off of Generation 1 fighting a team of Deceptions. The beta team will consist of 30 characters, with each player representing one Autobot. Once testing is complete, the game will give people the chance to form teams to fight Deceptions. Each team will have their own playing field, so each team will have their own story. The testing will take place in an enclosed environment, in order to prevent leakage of game secrets to the media. This testing area will not be revealed to the public until testing is complete. In order to apply for the beta testing team, also known as Alpha Team, players can sign up at our home site and fill out the personality test. We want to pick players that best match the characters for the most realistic gaming experience."

Sasha paused the TV, having recorded the broadcast for me on TiVo, and turned to me. "Well?"

I had to shake myself out of my stupor and close the vast cavern that was my mouth. "I have to be on that team."

The next instant, I was rushing around, nearly toppling the 1919 Root Beer lamp in the mad rush to get back to my room.

"Karen, slow down. They plan on keeping the application open for two weeks."

"Doesn't matter." I saved my paper and opened up a new window. Typing in 'Hasbro Transformers VR apply' in the Google bar, the web link was the first one on the list.

"What do you mean it doesn't matter? I'm saying that you don't have to rush, is all."

Quickly filling out the information form before the quiz, "You know how huge the Transfan community is? Everyone and their cousin-once-removed will be signing up. If I was Hasbro, I would be picking the first person who matched the character. With my personality, it is completely possible that someone will beat me to the punch of getting Hound. The sooner I finish this, the better my chance of being part of the team."

"Why can't you be Jazz or that shuttle bot? What was his name? Jetstorm…no… Jetfire…no… ummm…."

"Skyfire?"

"Yeah, that one. Why can't you be him, or one of the lady bots?"

A, B, A, C. "Because Jazz is a sneaky party animal, and I'm not a party animal. Skyfire likes Starscream, and I hate Screamer. Hasbro didn't use the femmes in Devastation and I don't see them using the femmes in this game either."

"Don't they need femmes if there are going to be girl players?"

D, D, A, B, B, C. "No, Cybertronians are genderless. Femme is just a frame type. I'm a plant science major, and if that is not Hound to a tee, I don't know what is. Also, you just said I could be one of the two other mechs."

"Only because you've told me that is what you got on the personality tests you like to take. You almost done yet?"

"Just two more." B, and A. "Done!" With a flourish, I pressed the complete button.

Sasha leaned over my shoulder. "What is that?"

 _Dear Prospective Player,_

 _By agreeing to send in the results of the quiz and your personal information, you are agreeing to not sue Hasbro if you are not selected to be a part of the Alpha Team. If selected, you are agreeing to be isolated from the outside world for the entire beta test. For every three months spent in testing, Hasbro will reimburse 10,000 dollars into your bank account. After testing is complete, you will be given royalties for the completed Transformers Revolution game and Hasbro will pay for any schooling left in your degree or any debts from schooling._

 _Best of luck,_

 _Hasbro_

"Wow, that is a pretty good deal."

Sasha pulled me away from the computer so she could get in front of me. "Pretty good? It's like they are bribing you. Do they think that they are going to fry your brain? I don't think you should do this."

"Sasha, they are probably planning to test the game 'til it is perfect to release. That could take years. If the players are going to be isolated for years, it makes sense for Hasbro to reimburse the players for lost time. It also makes sense for them to also pay for schooling since most of the gamers are going to be college students like me. You're worrying too much."

Sasha stepped away from the desk and said, "Okay, Karen, I won't stop you; I don't trust this, but I trust you."

Turning to Sasha as she made her way out of the room, "Hey."

She turned back.

"I agree that I shouldn't trust this. I'll keep my eyes open and if I see that there is a legitimate reason for concern, I'll pull out. I'll even work to shut down the program so the other players can get out of the line of fire. I will not be stupid and risk my life for a dumb game."

Face lifting into a smile, "Girl, that is only if you get drafted. You still need to beat the others at getting Hound."

"We'll know in two weeks. Wish me luck."

The die was cast. I just hope that I placed a good bet.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Here is the first segment of the story. Sorry for any grammar errors, I'm the first one to admit that I'm not an English major. Hope you like the story and where it is going. I can't promise fast updates since I get writer's block quite often, but I'll promise to finish this story and not abandon it. This story has been harassing me for months to write it and now is the time. Thanks, Guest Kat ;)**

 **Hugs to everyone,**

 **AlloraStar217 ;)**


	2. Ch 1 Snail Mail Herald

**Author's Note: Wow! I am amazed. I didn't think that I would get any reviews within the first few hours of being published. Thank you, those of you that reviewed, it made me jump up and down when I read how much you like the story's beginning.**

 **Guest SunnySides: Ok, ok here's your second update within 24 hours. I honestly thought it would take until Christmas to finish this chapter. I can't promise fast updates in the future, though. ;P**

 **Guest Secret: Yes I totally agree. I need this to be real, but the tech for it is a long way off. At least, we have fanfiction and imagination.**

 **Again most of the cast belongs to Hasbro, this is my first story and I hope you guys enjoy.**

* * *

Ch. 1 Snail Mail Herald

Sasha was currently lying down on a bench across from me, legs crossed and glossy black hair spilling over the edge. Dressed in a red T-shirt and skinny jeans, she was currently reading one of the men's health magazines. Maybe reading wasn't the right term. It was more like she was flipping through the thing looking for some eye candy.

Not looking away from her eye candy pamphlet, "How long 'til you're done with your workout?"

Trying to read my chem book while running was near impossible. Doing that while rolling my eyes at Sasha's impatience was just asking for one of my famous epic falls—the kind that looks way worse than it actually was because I know how to fall with style.

Huffing, "Fifteen more minutes, then I'm done for tonight, Sash."

If she had a piece of gum, Sasha would have been one those gum blowers giving me the 'are you for real' look along with a bubblegum pop. She gave a close second by closing the magazine and turning her brown eyes towards me. She then decided that it was time to sit up and give me one of her famous intervention talks.

"Karen."

'Uh oh,' I thought, 'she's going with the "you are being stupid" argument.'

"Why are you working like this? It has been over four months since the application closed. Finals are coming up and you're not studying, but acting like you're in boot camp from Heavy Weights. If you haven't gotten an invite yet, you're most likely not going to get it. You know this. "

She left out the 'and you're still doing the stupid thing,' but that was implied. I knew she was right in my head, but my heart was giving me that 'you might just win the prize' feeling I got right before they drew my name for the prize lottery at events. That and Hasbro finally gave me an incentive to complete my fitness goal.

I thought back to the broadcast that aired a day after the application closed. The same businessman was giving the update: "With over twenty million applications sent in for the chance to became part of the Alpha Team, we are sorry to say that we will be only accepting players from the US at this point in time; this is because we are not planning to test the universal translator right now. Even though we are taking a good chunk out of the applications, it will take at least three months to sort through and find the best matches for every character involved in the test. We will be sending out letters to all the accepted players and give a national broadcast stating that everyone who has been accepted has received and confirmed a letter of invitation at that point in time. While waiting to see if you are one of the thirty, Hasbro recommends that prospective players work towards improving their physical health. The beta test will go far more smoothly if everyone is in their best physical fitness. Best of luck."

Back to the present, and the fact that I had only ten more minutes left to run resurfaced in my mind. Boy, does time go fast when you're distracted.

"They didn't *huff* announce that *huff* all the players *huff* have *huff* been *huff* found."

She just rolled her eyes at me and swayed over to the treadmill on her high-heeled sandals. Looking over the top and seeing that there were seven minutes left, she snorted. Quickly grabbing my chem book, she snapped it shut, which startled me enough to stumble and scramble to prevent a fall.

"Sasha! Not cool. I almost fell."

"Like you're going to fall. I've seen you fall like only three times since we started rooming together." She gave the chem book one of her disgusted looks, then went to put it into my backpack off to the right of the treadmill I was on.

"Tonight you're taking a break from all this stress and watching that movie you promised me for not making you take the bus here."

The treadmill was going into the last one-minute cool-down walk. "Ok, Sasha."

"And you're not gonna skip out on me by reading during the whole movie again."

Stepping off the treadmill and trying to shake off the feeling of still moving forward, "You're not going to let that go, are you?"

"Nope; you owe me, big. I don't know how you could skip out on Mean Girls."

I groaned, "'Cause when I worked at DQ, all my coworkers kept using that dumb line."

"Which one?"

Giving her my best dead-pan Prowl, "'Cause I use….."

"Ooooohhhhh…. yeah. That will do that to ya based on how sheltered you like to act."

"Ya think?"

* * *

A twenty-minute car drive later….

We were walking into our apartment building when Sasha suddenly rushed to beat me to our mailbox. She got in front and put her hands on her hips. She totally looked like a diva queen. I tried to get by her.

"Nah ah, Karen. You better march on up to our place and hit the showers. I'll get the mail and set up the movie."

"But…"

"Don't 'but' me. You're acting worse than an eleven-year-old kid waiting for their Hogwarts letter. If you have waited this long for the letter, you can wait 'til after you've showered."

"Fine, Mom," starting up the stairs. "What movie are we watching tonight?"

Sasha pulled her head out of the mail. "Pitch Perfect 2."

'Great,' I thought. 'Another one I did not want to see.'

A nice hot shower was just what the doctor ordered. Showers were the perfect time for me to daydream and reflect on the day's events. Ever since I'd sent in my application form, all I had been daydreaming about was the possible adventures I would be having as Hound. It would be fun to see the world through his eyes/optics. Since he wasn't one of the major players needed in battles, I would be able spend most of my time trying to find the Decepticon base for the rest of the team. I couldn't wait to explore the landscape that the game designers built for this beta test.

But I had to keep reminding myself that it was really unlikely that I would get to be one of the thirty chosen. There were millions of would-be players out there, and chances were high that thousands of them would share my personality. And even if they didn't share my unique perspective of the world, who's to say that I really have Hound's personality? It could be completely possible that my personality is so distinct that I wouldn't match any of the characters.

Turning off the shower and stepping into a warm towel, I looked into the mirror. Yep, the same girl was staring back at me. Same dishwater blonde hair that acted like it was half curly, same green eyes that acted like hazel based off of the light, same ghostly pale skin that should have had freckles but didn't, same scar on the right side of my neck from a surgery that was before I could remember things, and same rounded face that reminded me of my Dad.

This face—this body—was the one that I grew up with. What would it be like to wake up in a brand-new body—one made of pixels? One where you could physically touch the soul? Would it be a dream come true? Or would I be wishing to return to the body the Lord gave me the first chance I got?

I would not know unless I could be part of the Alpha Team, and that chance seemed to be slipping away.

Signing, I whipped on my favorite sweatpants and Emmaville sweatshirt, towel-dried my hair, and braided it over my head.

Walking down the hallway past Sasha's and my rooms, the first thing I saw was Sasha reading one of the letters. On top of the pile on the kitchen counter, there was an envelope addressed to me with the Hasbro sticker on it.

It was opened.

"Sasha! That's my letter."

"You were in the shower. I also wanted to be the first one to congratulate you. You're in."

"Of course, if I got the letter. Which character am I supposed to be?"

"Guess."

I must have had a struck-dumb look on my face because she laughed.

"What?"

"I said, 'guess,' silly."

"Hound?"

"Nope."

"Skyfire?"

"Nope."

"Jazzzz?"

Her grin got even bigger. "Nope. Keep going."

"One of the femmes? Please don't say Chromia. It's got to be Moonracer."

"Nope and nope again. Wow, Karen, you're getting far off the mark."

Sticking my right hand out, "Give it."

"Nope. You have to guess."

Starting to feel like Harry Potter when Dobby steals the letters, "Sasha Jane Jones, you give me that letter."

She jumped off of the couch. "Make me!"

The chase quickly dissolved into the 'can't touch me around the object' game every kid instinctively knows. I had just caught Sasha when she tossed the letter back onto the couch.

"I'm going to call Mika and Josh. We need to go out tonight and celebrate. My best friend is going to be a famous beta gamer and a world-renowned scientist for her discoveries of wild plants."

I wasn't really paying heed to what she was saying. I was too engrossed in the letter to care.

 _Dear Miss Karen Volstead,_

 _Congratulations. You are one of the lucky thirty selected to participate in the Transformers Revolution beta test. After sorting through all the applications received for the Alpha Team, it has been found that your unique personality perfectly matches one of the commanding officers of the Autobots. While this is a great opportunity, please remember to tell only trusted family members and make proper arrangements with them for the duration of the beta test. Also, all players are to keep their characters secret from the other players. We want to test how well the system works when players don't know who is who. After the national broadcast announcing that all the players have been found, you will be given more information on how this will proceed._

 _Confirm that you received this letter by typing in the code 7691A2 at our website._

 _Again, congratulations, S.I.C. Prowl._

 _Hasbro._

"I can't believe it," I breathed.

Sasha came back from her room. "Karen, get your coat on. We're meeting Mika and Josh at the Red Stag. We're going to celebrate with some hen of the woods and some craft 1919 rootbe…. Honey, what's wrong?"

She must have thought I would be jumping up and down or, at least, having an uncontrollable smile on my face. She read the letter. She knew what I knew, but she didn't understand why this was not a good thing.

She sat down on my right. "Hon, you have to tell me what you're thinking. I can't help if I don't know what is wrong."

Taking a deep breath, "Prowl is a character that is well loved for many reasons. In fact, some of my favorite stories involve Prowl in some way, shape, or form. But he represents something I do not want to become: soldierized. Prowl gave up being openly kind and caring in order to become the perfect tactician. He started repressing his emotions and forced himself to be the perfect machine. I know what the soldierization process does to people. It creates a hardness that I never want. I respect the men and women who are willing to go through with basic training in order to protect our freedom, but the process to become a soldier is scary. It's even scarier when you know that when the cards are down, you are one of the few who can completely become hard. I'm afraid that I may have this gift and I don't ever want to find out."

"Who says that you have to become soldierized?"

"I think Hasbro is asking me to."

"That is full of boloney. This is just a game. It's not like they are forcing you to play, or change your real-life personality. Think of it as acting. In the game, you're in character. In the real world, you're off set and you can be yourself. You're not cold or heartless; you wear your heart on your sleeve. Come on, what you need is a congratulation supper with our friends at the Red Stag. This is what you have been waiting for! A chance to see the world from a Cybertronian perspective! You can put the code in after we get home."

Halfheartedly, "You're right. This is what I have been waiting for. Let's celebrate with the whole gang."

* * *

"Hahaha, that was so much fun, Karen! We'll certainly miss you next year. Hopefully the testing will be done so we can see you senior year."

Putting the to-go containers in the fridge, "Yep, I'll miss you and the gang. I'll be sure to contact you guys when the test is complete so we can go out and celebrate."

"You better believe it. *yawns* I'm going to hit the hay. I've got an exam tomorrow night and I want to be well rested."

"'Night."

"'Night."

Grabbing the letter from where I left it on the couch, I crept back to my room and started getting ready for bed. The last thing I needed to do for the evening was send off emails letting the university know what was going on and telling my family the big news of my being accepted. The letter was sitting on my right, mocking me.

Do I enter the code tonight, or do I wait 'til I've got everything sorted out with school and family? Do I really want to go through with this test? They picked the character that I'm the least similar to. I hate paperwork. I don't like strategy games unless I'm playing Kamisado and YuGiOh against one of my younger brothers. How in the world did they pick Prowl, of all the characters? Perceptor would have been a better choice if they think I have no emotion. At least he is a scientist.

Well, if I don't put in the code, I would be forcing the other players to wait for who-knows-how-long. The company may wait 'til I finally enter the code years later to start, try to find another Prowl in three months, or just cancel the whole thing. Can I really do that to fans who love Transformers just as much as, if not more than, I do?

Quickly, before I could change my mind, I pulled the Hasbro confirmation page up and entered the code. My cursor wavered over the red accept button for five seconds, but I had already made my choice. I'd made it when I first signed up for this.

 _Welcome, Prowl. Welcome to the Revolution. See you on the battlefield._

What have I gotten myself into?

* * *

 **Author's Note: Hey guys, what a turn of events. Karen knows her character and already she is having buyer's regret. Sorry if you guys were wishing for some bot action but Karen and the other players need to be assembled first. I love readers and I love comments. Please review. Are you surprised at the character chosen for Karen? You think Hasbro goofed? If you're worried that Hound and the other candidates will get second fiddle to Prowl and the command staff, don't worry. I plan a lot of character development for the non-spotlight characters. Also, don't plan on seeing any new post till at least Thursday. I have stuff to do and I will not have time to finish another chapter within the next 72 hours.**


	3. Ch 2 Fly Away with Who?

**Author's Note (Mini-Story): A brass colored steam train pulls up to the fueling station. Allora jumps out and unhitches the engine from the coal car. The engine pulls ahead a few inches, then transforms into a handsome mech.**

 **"I'm going to scout the next part of the Story."**

 **Waves back, "Ok, I'll have the coal car filled up by the time you get back."**

 **The train former disappears into the mist of untold potential.**

 **Turns to the audience as she is shoveling coal. "Hey, guys. Thanks for the reviews. Sorry it took a couple of days, but I had life stuff to take care of. The mech you just saw was Deep Thought. He is the mechifaction of this story. His job is to scout ahead, find the best route, and make sure we don't get derailed. My job as the author is to stock up on coal (ideas) and water (energy). Now, I know that there are some people who are just dying from extreme awesomeness potential and are trying to get me to reveal the plot. *Glares at Guest SunnySides* I'm talking about you. You're asking for trouble like your namesakes. Deep Thought will not tell me which way we are going till we get there. If you try and rush me, he'll jam ideas into your skull until it bursts. I just suggest that you sit back and enjoy the ride. Part of the fun is traveling there. Don't focus so much on the destination that you miss the scenery."**

 **Deep Thought comes back into view. "You're not telling them the ending, are you?"**

 **"No, just warning them what will happen if they keep trying to force me to tell."**

 **"I'll bash some helms."**

 **Cringes, "Please don't. I like my readers."**

 **Huffs, "Fine. Let's get going. The next part will not write itself."**

 **Deep Thought gets back on the tracks and transforms. Allora hooks him up to the other cars and jumps on board.**

 **Toot, toot. "All aboard."**

* * *

Ch. 2 Fly Away With Who?

"Karen. Karen!"

"~I've got a couple dents on my fender. Got a couple rips in my jeans. Trying to fit the pieces together. But perfection is my enemy. On my own I'm so clumsy, but your shoulders I can see. I'm free to be~bzzZzZzt..."

K- "Hey! I was singing to that."

Dad- "I know that, but you weren't hearing your Mom."

K- "Sorry, Mom. Sorry, Dad. What did you want to talk about, Mom?"

M-"I said, do you think that you'll be home for Christmas, at least?"

K- "I don't know, Mom. They made it sound like I wouldn't be able to see you guys for awhile. I might be able to send packages out to the fam on Christmas, but that is a small hope."

D- "Do you think that all those books you bought and sent ahead will help this go faster?"

K- "Hopefully. It's not like I'll have internet access to research how to plan successful battles. I'm just praying that I can do a decent enough job so the rest of the team doesn't get sore at me."

My youngest brother, Alex, looked up from his tablet. "You'll be awesome. You always beat me at YuGiOh."

The oldest younger brother, Owen, pulled his nose out of his book. "Yeah, and you're always beating me at Kamisado."

K- "Only because I read my cards, Alex, and only because we play only one round, Owen. I'm not good at games like Risk."

D- "If you actually played it with me on New Year's Eve, you might be good."

K- "That game takes forever and it is so boring."

M- "Hey now, let's not fight. We're almost at the airport. With Dad going to his annual training and Karen to her secret test, this will be the last time for a while that the whole family will be together."

The boys and I chorused okay, and then everyone got back to what they were doing: Dad driving the truck, Mom playing Bejeweled Blitz, Alex playing Minecraft, Owen reading Percy Jackson, and me staring at the road ahead.

How long until I could see my family again? The boys could be finishing college, for all I knew, by the time I got out! Dad would have retired from the National Guard unless WWIII started up. Mom might finally become a national movie star.

I could be missing out on all of that, or the test could only take three months—hardly any time at all.

So why did I feel like I would never see them again? It could be because there was no definitive timeline. I didn't have a clue where I was going, or have control over it.

Stop it. You'll see them again. It is just a game. It will be over by Christmas. You'll see.

We pulled up to the Minneapolis Airport's pick-up and drop-off zone. The whole family crawled out of the truck. Dad got his bags, and I got my one carry-on since I had already sent everything ahead.

I hugged Mom, and she said to me, "I'll miss you, baby girl."

"I'll miss you too, Mommy."

"You got Pegasus with you?"

"Yep."

"And her pink tutu?"

"And her pink tutu."

"I wish you weren't going."

"I know."

Switching to Owen, who said, "Miss you."

"You too, bro."

To Alex, who said, "Win."

Chuckling, "It's not that type of game."

"Really? Wouldn't you win if you beat the Decepticons?"

"Hmmm, maybe? I'm not sure if we can completely beat the Decepticons. I would think that the game would regenerate any characters we defeat."

"Oh."

Pulling apart, the boys and I watched Dad give Mom one last farewell kiss. Dad went to grab one of his check-in bags.

Before he could grab it, "I got that Dad."

"Okay, if you say so."

Waving goodbye, Dad and I walked into the airport.

* * *

Once we got Dad's bags checked in and got through security, it was time to give one last hug before we parted ways since our planes were at different ends of the airport.

"Thanks for lending me some of your combat exercises and for getting in touch with that basic training officer for me."

"It was nothing. You just focus on getting back soon. Okay, kiddo?"

"Okay. I love you, Daddy."

"Love you too."

Traveling down the hallway until I found gate G17, I found an open seat in the waiting area and pulled out my mini computer/tablet. I typed in the web address for my Facebook page and posted a new status.

 _Hey guys,_

 _As most of you know, I'm going on a trip for an unknown amount of time. I'll be thinking and praying for everyone while I'm gone. I promise to post when I'm back. I wish that I could give you guys updates while I'm gone, but, unfortunately, I can't where I'm going. I promise to stay safe and to come back as soon as I can. I've already said goodbye, but I wanted to say it again. See you later alligator._

 _Loves,_

 _Karen Volstead_

Before I could turn off the computer, my Facebook page became flooded with responses. We'll miss you. Be safe. See you soon. You're a star. You are loved. The Lord is watching out for you. I love you baby girl. Miss you already. You are beautiful. You'll always be in our prayers. And on they went.

I had to smile at this. Everyone that I considered family had waited 'til I'd posted for the last time, so I would see the page be flooded with support. It made me feel a little bit better about the situation. Hopefully, this would all be over in a couple of months.

The airport speakers crackled and rasped, "Now boarding first class."

That was me. I'd better get going. With no small amount of reluctance, I turned off my computer.

I walked over to the line that was quickly forming to get onboard the plane. I had my ticket checked, and I boarded; I got to sit in A1. After I had stored my bag above and settled myself down with my book, another girl sat down with me.

"Wow," she said. "These seats are sure are great. They certainly make you feel like royalty. I'm Hannah, by the way."

Her hair was the same color as mine, but that was where the similarities ended. Her hair was in dreadlocks pulled into a ponytail, her eyes bright green, and skin tanned from spending a lot of time outside. She was wearing a black tank top with a green sweatshirt. Grey yoga pants and hiking boots completed the look. A hemp bracelet around her left wrist was the only piece of jewelry she wore.

Her look screamed backpacker compared to my college look. I was wearing an Army-brown t-shirt, blue jean jacket and pants, hiking boots, and a green military-style hat. The only piece of jewelry that I wore was a necklace I made myself.

"I'm Karen, nice to meet you. First time flying first class?" I asked.

"Yeah, but I've been on planes plenty of times for internships."

"What kind?"

"Surveys for wildlife management. That is what I plan on majoring in."

"Cool, I'm majoring in plant sciences."

"Like horticulture and botany?"

"Exactly."

"Cool, what are you planning to do with that?

"I would like to work with third-world countries and develop farming practices using flora that are native to the countries. That way, they can spend less on fertilizer and insecticide because the plants have already adapted to their environments."

"What a great idea! I bet that would help keep down the amount of invasive species being introduced to those countries."

We both looked up when the plane's speakers crackled to life. "Please buckle your seatbelts. We will be airing a short safety video and begin taxiing to the runway in five minutes.

Hannah paused in her buckling. "Cool necklace. Can I get a closer look?" The sunlight must have caught my necklace as I buckled up.

"Sure." I handed it over so she could get a closer look.

"Wow, that's the Autobrand! I wasn't sure since it wasn't painted red. Did you make this?"

"Why, yes. I took an old Coke can, cut out some of the metal, rolled it flat, and traced the shape on the painted side with a pen. After that, all I needed to do was use an old ballpoint pen and trace over the indented lines. The embossing metal foil videos on YouTube really helped me develop the technique."

"Cool," she said, handing back the necklace. "I love Transformers. The Autobots are so environmentally aware. Why'd you decide not to paint it?"

"Well, I always thought it was kind of silly to have your faction blazing for the whole world to see. It's like having a target on your back; it's just asking to be shot."

"Hehe, yeah, I see your point. But if they're already broadcasting their faction with I.D. signals, would it matter, having that target? I mean, the enemy would just need a good radar to see where you are and they can shoot at the signal."

"Well, if you had a good signal damper you could hide that signature. An Autobot, not well known by the Decepticons, could sneak behind the battle lines during a battle. Since everybody is relaying signals and brands to keep track of who is who, the Autobot with a non-painted brand could get close to the commanding officers and take them out. Win."

"Okay, but wouldn't the commanders realize that someone who didn't look like one of their troops was getting too close?"

"Commanders can't know what all their troops look like. If there was a recent recruitment of soldiers, chances are good that they wouldn't know what they looked like."

"Drones?"

"Well… okay, that plan wouldn't work then. But you could disguise one of the saboteurs to look like one of the drones; however, this is only if they share a similar frame type. If they have one that is too different then that wouldn't work either."

Hannah leaned back into her seat. "You've really thought this through."

"Not really. It just seems like common sense. Sending spies across enemy lines is a common practice for any war, including the alien ones."

A brunette flight attendant came up and said, "Ladies, if you could please pause your conversation for a minute, the safety video will be beginning in a moment."

Together, we said, "Okay."

The video had a puppet explaining plane etiquette and what to do in an emergency. Once it was done, the plane started to take off. Hannah and I were distracted watching the plane lift off from the runway. Even though I'd been on a plane three times in my life, I could never get tired of watching the landscape get smaller and smaller. Hannah probably shared my viewpoint, since she was sharing my window to watch.

We turned back to the conversation once the plane was over the cloud bank and there was nothing to see.

"So, Hannah, who's your favorite character from the Transformers universe?"

"Boy, is that a loaded question, but I would have to say Hound. He and I share the same passion for nature. If he ever went to college to get a degree, I feel that he would choose the same major as me. Way cool. How about you?"

"Hound is my favorite, too. I love all the Autobot scientists, but Hound is my favorite overall. I always kind of thought we shared similar personalities. We could probably have a super-long conversation on plants."

"Yeah, I think so. Plants are pretty cool. Why are you flying to Las Vegas? Last time I checked, there weren't too many plant-related companies there. Aren't most of them are back in Minnesota?"

"I'm not sure that most of them are, but it is true that Minnesota has a few companies. No, my trip isn't plant related. I'm going on a kind of sabbatical from my studies, if you will. I don't know when I'm going to get back. How about you? Are you going to survey a local population of a desert tortoise or something?"

"No. I got offered the chance to test out some new tech a gaming company is testing. I thought that it might be a fun change of pace."

"Gaming company? What kind of tech?"

"What's always on the news: VR."

What are the chances of both of us being in first class seats and going to Vegas to test out a game? I quickly skimmed the cabin to see if anyone was paying attention to us. Nope, everyone was asleep or plugged in.

Whispering, I asked her, "You're not, by chance, one of the beta testers for Transformers Revolution, are you?"

Blinking, she answered, astonished, "Why, yes, I am. Are you one too?"

"Actually, yeah, I am."

"No way! Who would have guessed that two of the gamers would be living so close together? Who's your character? I got Hound!"

Oops. "You remember that we aren't supposed to tell each other which characters we got, right?"

Her hands flew to her mouth. "OMG, I totally forgot! I got caught up in the excitement at meeting another player. I thought I wouldn't meet anyone 'til I got to the testing site."

"That's okay. I didn't think so, either. I guess that Hasbro decided to book seats next to each other since we live close by."

"Yeah, you're probably right. Well, at least I'll know one person there that I like."

"Me, too."

* * *

The rest of the flight passed by rather quickly. After we ran out of Transformers stuff to gush about, we turned to environmental topics and what we were learning within our majors.

It wasn't too long until we were hitting the pavement. Hannah and I walked side-by-side to the pick-up zone of the airport.

"You excited to meet the rest of the team, Karen?"

"Yes, and no. I'm kind of nervous."

"I hear ya. Hey, I think that's our ride over there."

Looking over to where Hannah was pointing, I saw a businessman with a red tie and sunglasses, standing in front of a 2009 Camaro. It was painted like Bumblebee.

"Ladies," he greeted as he opened the door upon our approach and took our bags.

Looking at Hannah, I asked, "Do you want the honors?"

"You do it."

"Okay," I said, steeling myself. "I think it wants us to get in."

We both squealed and crawled into the car. The businessman got back into the driver's seat and drove us out of the airport. Watching Las Vegas scroll past, all I could think about was what the future held for us.

Would the team like us? Would they like me? Would they be understanding when they found out that they got the wrong Prowl? How long 'til I could see my family and friends again?

At least I'd met one new friend.

* * *

 **Author's Note (Side Story): Deep Thought pulls up to the water and energon tower. Allora jumps out and yawns. She starts to make her way to the sleeper car.**

 **"Hey! You going to hook me up or what?"**

 **"Oh, sorry." Quickly she hooks up the water and energon hoses to Deep Thought's intake. He visibly relaxes onto his axles for finally being able to rest. Allora starts to make her way back to the sleeper car.**

 **"You going to talk to our readers?" Allora doesn't hear him, she is too tired to listen. She disappears into the sleeper car.**

 **"Ok, I guess I'll talk to them then," coughs to clear his air intake. "Hey guys, again thanks for the reviews. We always love to hear from you guys. The song Karen was singing at the beginning was Free to be Me by Francesca Battistelli. Karen has met her first teammate and both are on their way to the testing site. Who will she meet next? Yes, there is no mech action yet but that is coming up. We don't know when the next chapter will be complete. So hold on, it will be worth the wait guys."**

 **He pausing to think for a second. "Hmmm, I think that is everything Allora wanted to say. Let us know what you guys are thinking. It makes our day. See you next time."**


	4. Ch 3 Home Sweet Base?

**Author's Note (Mini-Story): Deep Thought came marching up the hill. He found Allora taking a nap.**

 **Crouching down to poke her, "Hey, you getting up?"**

 **Moan, "15 more minutes."**

 **Poking her again, "Come on, it's the weekend. Now is the perfect time to get some more of the story done."**

 **Scooping her up, "Come on kiddo."**

 **Startling awake, "Can't I, at least, get 5 more minutes?"**

 **"Nope, if we want to make it to the post office today, we have to start now."**

 **Deep Thought set Allora down so he could transform. Allora hooked him up to the other cars and jumped in. They set off for the mountain pass.**

* * *

Ch. 3 Home Sweet Base?

We had left Las Vegas over an hour ago. Hannah had asked the driver where we were going, but he had replied that it was a secret. We could see the general direction, but since Hannah and I had never been in Nevada before, we couldn't tell if we were heading to a major city. There was just too much desert.

"Sooo," Hannah said while drumming her fingers on her knees. "Where do you think we're going?"

Shrugging my shoulders, "Got no clue. I would say Jasper, but that isn't a real place. Maybe one of Hasbro's warehouses?"

"Hey, maybe. Dude! Is that Jasper I see outside?"

Turning back to my window so I could see what she was pointing at, I saw a tiny town on our right. It looked like Jasper from Transformers Prime, and the road was curving towards it.

Whispering in my excitement, "You don't think?"

"That they built the town of Jasper to hide the testing site? Yes, that is too perfect."

Driving through the iconic center street, the car pulled up to what looked like an abandoned warehouse. The driver pressed a garage door opener and drove inside; he then got out of the car and opened the doors for us.

"Ladies, we have arrived." He then left to get our bags out of the car.

Turning to Hannah, "This is not what I was expecting."

That was an understatement. The warehouse smelled like fresh paint and had rusted tools and crates lying around to make it feel old. There was what appeared to be a car lift off to our left, but that was it.

"Same here. Who knows, maybe there is a secret entrance to an underground base hiding in here!"

Giving her my dubious look, "You know how much those cost? I highly doubt that Hasbro has had the money and time to build one within the last year."

Shrugging her shoulders, "Who knows, the broadcast did say that they had been developing the tech for years. It is possible that they would have had time to build one."

The driver came back and handed us our bags. "Ladies, if you would follow me this way."

He started for the car lift. Sharing looks, Hannah's excited and mine still dubious, we followed him onto the lift.

"Sooo, what now?" I asked.

He smiled and pulled one of the levers. Both Hannah and I lost our balance, as the lift had begun to sink into the ground.

"What in the world is going on?!" My shout couldn't be heard over the sound of the engine parts moving to bring the lift down.

The warehouse floor slowly rose past our heads and we were greeted by a cavern that ended in a gigantic metal wall. The NEST logo was painted in a blazing red for all to see. The lift finally settled onto the floor of the fifty-foot high cavern.

"Ladies, welcome to NEST—your new home away from home." With that, he grabbed our bags, since they had fallen from our grasps, and started to walk towards the metal wall.

Both of us scrambled to follow. I looked over my shoulder to see the tunnel behind us. It looked like an old salt mine. I could see strings of lights and wire running across the walls off into the distance. There didn't seem to be any activity in the cavern other than the driver and us.

The driver stopped in front of the wall. I could see now that what appeared at first to be a patch was actually a door. It was the type of door found on submarines. He handed back our bags, then proceeded to crank open the door. Behind it was a small room with a door at the other end. There was no handle. The room reminded me of an airlock found on spaceships.

"If you ladies would step inside."

Hannah turned to him, "You're not coming with us?"

"No, this door is one way until the beta test is over. Only players allowed inside."

"It's okay, Hannah. We did kind of sign up for this, even though I wouldn't have thought that it would be this extreme." Turning to the driver, "Will we be able to send out special occasion letters to family members, at least?"

"If the test runs long enough, Hasbro will allow letters to be sent to family members. After being screened, of course; we don't want game secrets getting out by accident."

I nodded my head; that was something I was praying for, so it made the situation a little bit better. Both of us stepped into the airlock. The driver closed the door behind us. Once that door was closed, the door in front opened.

"Heeelllllloooooo, new people! Welcome to NEST, our cushy cage. I'm Brandon."

A tall, skinny teen greeted us. He had blonde hair that was almost white and baby blue eyes. He was wearing what appeared to be a silvery metallic one-piece spandex suit. The suit was covered in box shapes. His name was displayed over his heart, and an Autobrand was on both shoulders. Around his waist was a thick black belt that had a fanny pack and some kind of pager device on it.

"Karen."

"Hannah."

"Would you two like to come in? They like us to have the door closed when waiting for more players."

Both of us stepped out so Brandon could close the door.

Hannah asked, "So they're bringing us in bunches?"

"Yep. I think you and Karen are the only two we are expecting today."

"Today?" I asked.

"Yeah, I think they didn't want 30 people to disappear off the face of the earth in one day. My group has been here for about four days, and the Doc's group has been here for ten days."

Brandon shook his hands out after the door was shut. "I'm supposed to show you your rooms and where everything else is." With that, he set off for one of the many hallways that branched off from the entrance.

H- "So, what is up with the suit?"

B- "It's what we're supposed to wear while in the game. They are designed to keep track of our vitals and warn the Doc when something is going wrong."

K- "They look like they would be annoying to take on and off all the time."

B- "That's what the square patches are for. They use micro velcro or something to stick together. When we want to get at a certain area without taking the whole suit off, we can just pull one of the patches off. It's great for emergencies and bathroom breaks. We each get two suits. While one is being cleaned in the closet, the other is being worn. Most of us sleep in them to get used to the feel of waking up in them. That, and it's just easier not having to change at night."

H- "So, they are like footie PJs."

B- "Yes."

K- "Why are you carrying a pager? Isn't that a little old school?"

B- "It's not a pager. It's, like, a communicator, like from Kim Possible."

H- "I love that show."

B- "Me too. They work just like in the show: text, call, video chat, and even radio. Since we don't have a cell tower down here for our phones, we get to use these."

K- "Do they use an off-the-grid internet source?"

B- "I think so. I believe that is what Will and Peter said they use. This is your room coming up on the right, Karen."

Brandon was pointing to a door that had a plate on the right-hand side. The door was the same gunmetal grey as the rest of the walls. The only way you could tell that there was a door there was that it was slightly indented and had a keypad underneath the nameplate.

B- "The code right now is 1234. You can change it later on when you get settled. All the stuff you sent ahead is already inside; you just have to unpack it."

Just then, his pager crackled to life. "Brandon? Have the new players arrived yet?"

Brandon picked up the pager and pressed a button on the side like a walkie-talkie. "Yes, I'm just showing them their rooms."

Pager- "Who came in today?"

B- "Hannah and Karen."

Voice raised in a near shout, "Karen! Send her down right now. She hasn't had a check-up in over two years. Not since that malaria shot."

The pager crackled off. Hannah and Brandon stared at me. I raised my left hand in defense.

"I come from a 'you're not sick, you don't need a doctor' family. All I've had the past two years is a couple of colds. That's all."

B- "Hey, I believe you, but I suggest that you get over there quick. Doc doesn't like waiting for his patients. His office is down that hall on the left. It will have the medical cross painted on the door."

Quickly typing in the door code so I could drop off my bag, "I'll catch you two later."

Hannah and Brandon were heading down the hall. Together, "See you later."

I fast-walked down the hall Brandon had pointed me towards. The med-bay door came up on the left. As I was about to knock, the door swished open.

"Don't just stand there, jump onto one of the beds so I can get started."

The "Doc," since I didn't know his name, was facing away from me, typing something onto his computer. I got onto the bed that was closest to his desk. He turned his chair towards me. He had a military-style haircut, his black hair peppered with grey. His skin was just slightly tan and he had brown eyes. He was wearing the game suit with a white lab coat on top. His name tag said, "Raphael."

"It says here that you wear glasses. Where are they?"

"In my room. I have been trying to wear contacts for the past few months."

"Start wearing your glasses again. I don't want to see people coming in complaining about their eyes because they forgot to take out their contacts before gaming."

"Have people been doing that?"

"No, no one has been allowed to play the game yet. I just don't want people to come in for being stupid."

"Does that happen often where you're from?"

"Yes, and your record is not easing my mind."

Doctor Raphael carried out my checkup with practiced ease. He didn't talk much but would hum to himself when he made note of my scars. Once done, he started to update my file. I got off the bed, thinking I was free to leave. I'd almost made it out the door when he called out.

"Up, up, up, up. Not so fast, Prowl. I'm not done yet."

Did he just say my character's name? I slowly turned on my heels.

"What?"

"You heard right." Pointing to the bed I had just vacated with his pen, "Sit."

I promptly sat back down.

"Yes, I know your character's name. I have to know everyone's character so that if something happens in the game that affects them in real life, I know. Now, based off of your character, you'll be spending a lot of time in the game. I don't want you to start forgetting to take care of yourself during this test. When this thing starts, I'm going to start scheduling weekly appointments. I suggest that you don't take off your suit; I want to be able to monitor your vitals and make sure that the long exposure isn't messing you up. I don't want to have to come after you."

"Do you know my test results?"

"No, I don't. I just know what character you got. I have no idea if he matches your personality, if that is what you're asking."

"Does anyone else know who I'm supposed to be playing as?"

"Only Prime's player. Everyone else is playing the 'guess who' game."

"Has anyone figured out who your character is?"

"Plllleeeaaase, everyone has made a bet on who my character is."

"I bet it has nothing to do with your bedside manner," I teased.

He humphed. "Everyone has their own opinion, but if they bug me about it, I'll wrench them."

Raising my hands in defense, "Okay, got it. Don't get the Doc angry at you. Am I free to go?"

"Yes, yes. Just make sure to start wearing your glasses and suit."

* * *

I had my door open as I was unpacking my gear. I had already switched out my clothes for the suit and my contacts for my glasses. I was putting some of my favorite books on the shelf when someone came up to my door.

"Hey, can I come in?"

"Sure, why not? The door is open."

The guy sauntered into the room, looking at the haphazard mess of my stuff. "Quite the book collection. Do you think we'll be here long enough to read it all?"

Putting my Skindeep comic away, "I hope not. I just brought some of my favorites along." I was glad that I hadn't unpacked my strategy books yet. If he saw them, he would know my character instantly.

"'Plant Propagation'. You a gardener or what?"

I turned to face him. He was about my age. He had brown hair that was hidden under a grey stocking cap, brown eyes, and tanned skin. His name tag said, "David."

"Kind of. I'm studying for a Plant Science major."

"Cool. We have a greenhouse on base for the green thumbs here."

"Awesome. I'll have to check it out with Hannah, sometime. Do you happen to know when dinner is, by chance? Brandon didn't get to tell me before I had to go see Doc Raf."

"It's starting in three minutes. You want to come with me?"

"Sure."

He held his arm out for me. We began to make our way down the hall.

"So, who does the cooking?"

"You know that town upstairs?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, they have these dumbwaiters in some of the buildings connected to the base. If they need to send us supplies, it's through those. They send down hot boxes of food, and we just have to send everything back up when we are done."

"I bet that cuts down on the amount of chores everyone has to do."

"You better believe it."

Over the next two weeks, players came in groups of four at a time. During that whole process, no one was allowed into the VR room. The morning after the last group of players arrived, the mess hall speakers turned on.

"Attention, everyone. The VR room will be open beginning today."

Everyone finished what food they had left and, as a whole, made their way to the VR room.

Inside, there were pod-shaped beds that had an oxygen mask within grabbing distance while lying down. A visor connected to the pod would slide over your eyes, and a glass shield would seal you inside. Each pod had a nameplate on the end.

Doctor Raphael explained how to safely hook up to the machines and how to start the boot-up sequence.

I found my pod and crawled inside. I put on my oxygen mask, and the visor covered my eyes. Words popped up on my screen.

 _Game Start in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1._

I fell into blackness.

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-Story): Deep Thought's wheels became jammed.**

 **"Allora! What happened?"**

 **Allora jumped out and looked at the damage. "It looks like a branch got snagged in your wheels. It will take me a little bit to fix it. We won't be making it to the post station tonight."**

 **"Great. Just great."**

 **"Hey, at least it gives our readers more time to write us. Right?"**

 **"Yeah, you're right."**


	5. Ch4 Left Ped Right Ped

**Author's Note (Mini-Story): "Geez, Thought. You sure picked a grand time to get a branch stuck in your wheels. I thought you scouted this part of the tracks for this kind of thing." Allora was currently underneath Deep Thought trying to get all of the crushed up branch bits out.**

 **"I did! The branch must have broken off its tree shortly after I finished scouting this area. OUCH! That hurt."**

 **"Well, that should. I'm not Ratchet and I can't fix everything you mess up. There, that should be the last piece."**

 **Allora crawled out from underneath, "Pull forward a few feet and tell me what you think."**

 **Deep Thought pulled forward a few feet. "Feels like new. Jump on, I want to make it to the post station today."**

 **Allora jumped on board and they began to head down the mountain pass.**

* * *

Ch. 4 Left Ped Right Ped

Black was all I saw. There was no light, no sound, no smell; it was just blackness. I couldn't feel anything. I was just floating, unsure of where I was supposed to be. Then, I felt something click into place and the words 'System Startup Sequence Beginning' appeared in my mind.

The first thing to come online was my memories. I re-watched my journey to get to NEST; meeting Hannah, Brandon, Doctor Raphael, and David; learning that the VR room was open; rushing to hook up to the system so I could play the game; seeing the words 'Game Start in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.'

My earlier memories appeared to be computer code thrown in a haphazard pile. Some of the code seemed to be missing pieces and nothing had a definite time stamp on it. I picked one up at random.

 _'I was standing in front of the kid's bathroom. Any second, Owen would finish brushing his teeth and come out. He would turn off the light as he was closing the door. Since the hall light would be off also, he would only see my outline at first. I heard the sink turn off. Here he comes. The light turned off while the door began to open._

 _"BAAA!" His right hand flew up to his heart, beating it like Jackie Chan from Jackie Chan Adventures._

 _"Don't do that, Karen!"_

 _"Do what? I'm just standing here waiting for my turn." I was trying to keep the smile off of my face and from laughing at his reaction._

 _"That! You're too quiet. You're always scaring me and Alex."_

 _"It's not like I do it on purpose."_

 _"Well, when you are, just don't. You're going to give one of us a heart attack one day."'_

The memory ended. I put it back on the pile. I should really sort these; my organized chaos theory for my bedroom will probably not fly within this processor. A path seemed to light up beneath me. Here goes.

 _Energon cycling on_. My pump started beating, energon being pushed and pulled through my veins. Pump, pump, pump. Is this what it would be like if we had to constantly think about making our heart beat? Pump, pump, pump. Wish I could make this a subconscious thing. Energon cycling placed into subconscious routine. I could still feel my pump pulse and the energon flowing, but I was no longer consciously thinking about it. Thank goodness for the subconscious.

 _Vents cycling on_. Breath in, breath out, breath in. My chest plates were moving to allow the oxygen into my systems. I could feel the air travel down my olfactory sensor through my throat into the air intake. It was being filtered for contaminants before being allowed to interact with the energon. Venting placed into subconscious routine.

 _Door wing sensors coming online_. Too much noise bombarded my processor. _Been lying down on back for too long. Lying on metal berth. Room contains a desk, datapads, chair, berth, lamp, overhead lights, and a door. The door is currently locked. Light is at 1050 watts. Vents blasting 70 degrees Fahrenheit air. Room is made of an orange metal. There is a closet next to the wash racks. The closet contains an acid rifle, ammo, towels, and has a mirror on the door. Individual mechs are booting up in the rooms next to this one._

Make it stop! This was too much information coming in at once! I can't hear myself think! _Door wing sensory levels reduced to 70%. Processing of sensory information placed into subconscious routine._

Thank you. My optics blinked online and I saw that I was currently looking at my pedes. What? Wasn't I supposed to be lying down? I noticed that my hands were currently covering my audio sensors.

I must have sat up and over-shot it when I got bombarded by my wings. Slowly, I sat back up and placed my hands on my lap. I found that I had to lean forward a bit so I wouldn't fall back onto my wings. They were heavy enough to be a backpack. I couldn't hear anything.

Audio sensors coming online. The words displayed across my vision before sound came rushing at me. It wasn't as bad as when my door wings on-lined. It was more of the feeling you get when slowly waking up. The sound slowly got louder and louder before finally leveling off. I could now hear the ventilation system of the base and my own venting in the room.

My wings were dead weights on my back as I swung my legs over the edge of the berth. I saw in the mirror G1 Prowl staring back at me. I raised my right hand and did a little wave. Prowl's image mimicked my movements. Wow, I'm really Prowl right now.

I glanced at the room. My door wings had described everything to a tee. It looked so real. When compared to my memories of Earth, the room looked too real. My door sensors must have added to the images I was seeing, making them seem overly realistic. I couldn't find anything that looked pixilated in the least.

A warning popped up on the edge of my vision. Door wings strained from lying on your back struts for too long. Yep, they certainly felt sore. I wish I could comm Ratchet right now. Just then, a phone symbol popped up on my screen.

Not sure what to do, I concentrated on that symbol and brought my left hand to my audio receptor. A list of names appeared over my vision.

Optimus Prime, Ratchet, First Aid, Bumblebee, Jazz, Ironhide, Wheeljack, Perceptor, Skyfire, Hound, Warpath, Inferno, Red Alert, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Bluestreak, Smokescreen, Mirage, Huffer, Brawn, Cliffjumper, Trailbreaker, Gears, Windcharger, Blaster, Beachcomber, Cosmos, Powerglide, Seaspray.

Focusing on Ratchet's name, a little vibrating phone symbol replaced the names.

"WHAT?! *CRASH* Blast it! What do you want?"

Cringing at the shout over the comm line, "It's Prowl."

"I can see your blasted name over my vision. It's blocking my view. What do you want? If you have already broken something, why I'll…"

Cutting him off in mid-rant, "I didn't break anything. I haven't even left my berth yet. I'm just contacting you because my door wings are strained at the moment. Apparently it is because I was lying down for too long on them. If you're unavailable right now, would you please give me some suggestions for what I can do to fix them?"

Crash, bang. "I don't know, stretch them or something. Don't fall down on them. I don't want to bend them back into shape. *Bang* Blast it all! Don't fall over in general and don't comm me unless it is a true emergency!"

With that, the line went dead. Jeez, his gyros must be out of sync. I'd better be careful when standing up. Turning my attention back to the mirror, I decided to try and use the exercise I did sometimes in church.

Sometimes, during worship, I would pretend that I had angel wings. My back muscles would stretch and extend, while in my mind I saw my wings extend and stretch to hug my family members standing next to me. I liked to think that I was spiritually hugging them.

I extended my consciousness to my door wings. I could still sense the info they were picking up, but that was in the back of my processor. Instead, I focused on the struts and wires that connected the wings to my back. Watching the mirror, I lifted and stretched the wings. I moved the left one up while moving the right one down. I ran through a series of movements, each one slowly easing the ache to a dull, almost non-existent pain.

Pushing myself to my pedes, I stumbled for a second. Straightening up, I found that my door wings naturally rested in that iconic straight-out position. It helped keep my balance centered. That, and the fact that my chest plates were heavier than they first appeared in order to help counterbalance the wings.

I should find Smokescreen and Bluestreak. They are probably having the same issues as me right now.

Careful not to cause my center of gravity to go off balance, I made my way over to the door. It opened when it sensed my approach. Looking to my left and to my right, I saw doors leading off in both directions down the orange halls. Which way to Bluestreak? A little map of the base appeared in the upper-left-hand corner of my vision. It had blue lights that, when focused on, had a bot's name appear. A yellow arrow was pointing down the left hall. When I focused on the arrow, it said Bluestreak.

Well, thank goodness for GPS. I should call Smokescreen while I find Blue. Going through the motions for the comm faster this time, Smokescreen picked up on the third ring.

Groan. "Prowl? What do you want?"

Walking down the hall slowly while keeping my hand over my audio receptor, "Are you in need of assistance? I know that I had some trouble booting up myself."

"I might need some help. I tried to get up too fast and landed on my door wings wrong. Ratchet is going to have a fit when he sees this."

"I believe that he is going to have a lot of company for the time being. Everyone is getting used to these new forms. There is bound to be some injury."

"You're right, of course. I could definitely use some help getting to the med-bay. My balance is off."

"Once I have found Bluestreak, I'll come retrieve you."

"Sounds like a plan. Smokescreen out."

The line ended and I returned my focus to following the tiny little yellow arrow on my GPS map display. As I was making a curve in the hall, I heard a shout and bang. I quickened my pace to see if whoever it was was okay.

Jazz and Bluestreak were on their butts rubbing their helms. They must have run head-first into each other, so focused on staying upright that they didn't see each other.

"Are you two alright?"

"Jeez, Prowler, not so loud! My audios are killing me."

Near whispering, "My apologies, Jazz. If your audios are anything like my wings, they are most likely on too high. If you're having trouble turning them down, try imagining that you're turning the volume knob down on the TV. Use hand motions; they help the process go faster."

After a moment, Jazz's visor lit up in relief. He must have been able to finally turn down the volume on his audio receptors.

"Wow! Thanks, Prowler, I can't believe that worked. How'd you know?"

"Logical guess." Turning to Bluestreak, "Are you alright, Bluestreak? Smokescreen needs our assistance. He landed on his door wings when he fell."

"IthinkI'mokProwl. Ijustlostmybalanceforasec. Boyit'sweirdbeinginthesebodiesisn'tit?"

Helping Blue up, "Yes, it is rather strange being in these forms. I suggest that you straighten your wings like mine are; it will help with your balance. Is there any way to slow down your voice box? It is a little difficult to understand you."

"Oh!" His optics widened in surprise. "Oh, I'm sorry. I got excited, I guess."

"That is understandable."

Once Blue was settled on his pedes, I turned back to Jazz. "Would you like to come with us to retrieve Smokescreen? I believe it will take a team effort to lift him up."

"Sure, no problem."

All of us made our way to Smokescreen's quarters.

* * *

After we had picked up Smokescreen, we went over to the med-bay. First Aid was helping Ratchet clean up when we walked in.

"What in the blazes did you do?!" Ratchet shouted at Smokescreen.

He winced. "I got up too fast and fell back onto my wing."

His left wing was bent at a 45-degree angle and hung loosely from his back.

Growling, Ratchet pointed to one of the benches. "'Aid, help them get Smokescreen onto that berth while I find a datapad on fixing door wings."

He disappeared into what I assumed was his office. The sound of items flying and crashing was heard shortly after.

First Aid came over and helped Smokescreen up, "Sorry about that. He has had a rough day so far. Apparently his frame is a heavyweight. He has been having trouble adjusting to the weight of his pedes."

P/K- "That's logical. He certainly can't lift bigger frames off the ground unless he can properly plant himself."

F- "I guess that makes sense."

Ratchet came back out with his olfactory sensor in a datapad. "It says here that your wing mostly likely snapped off the safety latches in the fall. They can be fixed with a simple weld. In order to fix the bent bit, I'll have to heat the metal on both sides and bend it back into place. The wires should be fine. It will hurt like the Dickens, but you'll get over it."

Ratchet grabbed a blow torch from one of the many cabinets lining the walls. "Hold him down. I don't want him thrashing while I'm working on him."

First Aid piped up, "Can't you give him some anti-pain code or something?"

R- "I have no idea how it will work. I don't want to mess with his brain. Smokescreen, if you can, turn off the feeling from your door wings."

Smokescreen screamed during the unbending process but was fine when Ratchet fixed his safety latches. After that, Ratchet decided to give everyone a checkup to see how their new frames were holding up.

After my checkup, I got a comm from Optimus Prime. Putting my hand over my audio receptor, I thought, 'Prowl here. What do you need, Prime?'

"Prowl, could you call everyone down to the main deck? Teletraan-1 has a call waiting for us, and I can't seem to find the mass call feature."

Thinking, 'I'm on it, Prime. I'll see you once my group is done with our check-ups.'

"Sounds good. Prime out."

Focusing on my comm icon, I thought, 'call all except Prime.' Instantly, I had the words 'mass conference' displayed over my vision. Everyone in the med-bay paused in what they were doing.

"Optimus has called for a mandatory meeting on the main deck. There seems to be a call waiting for us on Teletraan-1. Prowl out."

After the call was ended, Jazz was the first one to speak up. "Wow, it's kind of scary how easy you find all of this, Prowler."

"It's Prowl, and no, I'm finding this very difficult. I'm just good at masking it. Now, let's find out what Teletraan has waiting for us."

* * *

Once everyone had gathered on the main deck, Optimus called out, "Is everyone here?"

Everyone sounded off. Optimus nodded his head, then turned to Teletraan-1. "Teletraan-1, answer the call, please."

The video screen winked to life. It was Megatron, smirking at us.

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-Story): Deep Thought pulled up to the post station. Allora jumped out and stretched. Once Allora unhooked him, Deep Thought was able to pull ahead enough to transform.**

 **Stretching, "Good job today. Allora, do you want to see if there is any mail for us?"**

 **"Sure thing." she disappeared into the station.**


	6. Ch5 Megabreak

**Author's Note (Mini-Story): Allora comes back out of the station carrying a small mail sack. Shouting over her shoulder, "Thanks a bunch for holding on to this for us." A small, "You're welcome," is heard from within.**

 **Allora walks over to Deep Thought and promptly sits down on his kneecap. "I can't wait to read these. Ooohhhh I'm so excited. Which one should I read first?"**

 **"Grab one at random."**

 **"Ok." Allora closes her eyes as she reaches into the sack. She pulls out a letter.**

 **"This one is from Guest Giddy," she reads then starts jumping up and down.**

 **"What's got you so excited?"**

 **She hands the letter to him, too excited to speak. He chuckles at it.**

 **"Do you want to say it, or I?"**

 **Stopping to take a breath, "I can say it. Thanks, Giddy, for your letter. I'm so glad that you love the last chapter. I can honestly say that it was my favorite chapter to write so far. I really wanted to portray what it would be like waking up in a Praxian frame. I'm happy that you think I did a good job at that."**

 **Turning back to the mail sack, "Ok, next one. This one is from Guest Kat." Reads it quick, "Hehehe, yay, thanks for helping me out for that quote. I always thought it was** dye **, not die. Hehehe."**

 **"This one is from CybertronDefense. Glad you love the story so far, here's another chapter for you."**

 **"Can I pick one this time?"**

 **"Sure," Allora holds three letters up for Thought to pick. He grabs one and reads it.**

 **"This one is from Guest fanfic browser, We're glad that you like our characters so far. We are striving for non-Mary Sues too. We agree that a Transformers VR could be a real thing in the future."**

 **"Ok, my turn." Allora reads the second to last letter. "Ok, this one is from Guest SunnySides. Really? Geez, you're really trying to impersonate Sideswipe and Sunstreaker."**

 **"What did the mech do?"**

 **Mimicking petting a dog's head, "Good Author."**

 **Deep Thought reaching down to pat Allora's head, "But you are a good author."**

 **Batting his hand away, "Don't you start. I'm not a pet."**

 **Raising his hands in defense, "Ok, ok, I give. I wouldn't be anything without you. What's the second half of the letter? You've only read the Sides part. Please read the Sunny, please."**

 **"He was confused about what was going on in the last chapter. Sorry if that was confusing, but I stated what I was trying to do in that chapter in reply to Giddy. Everything in that chapter is important, even the unimportant stuff. If you were only confused at why Megabutt is on Teletraan-1, you'll find out why in this chapter. Do you want to read the last letter, Thought?"**

 **"Sure, this one is from Guest Secret. He says, forget the mail, keep chugging on. I guess that's our cue to keep going."**

 **Allora jumps off Deep Thought so he can transform. They get set up, then start chugging along the track.**

* * *

Ch.5 Megabreak

The video screen winked to life. It was Megatron, smirking at us.

"Well, if it isn't Optimus Prime and his merry band of misfits. It's about time you finally onlined."

Optimus straightened his stance, "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, nothing, just the fact that my team has been functioning for the last three weeks. If your systems are acting anything like ours were after the crash, you'll be finding yourselves as weak as newborns." His smirk grew into a maniacal grin when over half the crew straightened in anger. "Oh, don't worry. I'm not coming to crush you. You are not worth the effort right now. I'll be merciful to you pitiful lot today and will give you 30 solar days of cease-fire. After that, I'll be coming after you full force. Try not to disappoint me."

His cackle was the last thing we heard before the video cut out.

Ironhide decided that it was a good time to speak up. "That creep. When I get my hands on him…"

Jazz, "Cool it, 'Hide. Let's find out what the Boss Bot has to say before we go on a murderous rampage." Turning to Optimus, "You know what's going on, Boss Bot?"

O- "No, I don't. I know as much as you right now."

"I have a theory as to what is going on right now."

Everyone's helms turned towards me with shock in their optics. Great…they were going to think I was a know-it-all now. Well, I was supposed to be Prowl right now, so I'd better act like him.

"Megatron has just given us a pass. He wants us to train."

Sunstreaker piped up. "Why wouldn't Megatron want to crush us now, and how do you know that he wants us to train?"

Don't facepalm. "What's more fun: beating real players or noobs? This is the game designer's way of giving us time to learn how to play the game. If we were to look at Teletraan's logs, we would most likely find a record of a crash."

Wheeljack was rubbing his face plate, "So, you're saying that Megatron's speech was this game's backstory and incentive to keep playing? That's brilliant! It also gives the excuse for why we don't know how everything works. Our characters would have forgotten in the crash. Brilliant!"

Nodding my head at Wheeljack and his bright head fins, "Yes. That was rather clever on the game designers' part. I would suggest that we focus on learning how to function in this form. No transformations this week. If it is this difficult to move right now, imagine trying to move in a shape that doesn't resemble our natural bodies."

Ratchet shouted over the murmur that began after my short speech. "I'll second what Prowl suggests and make it a medical order. If you try to transform, I'll weld you to the ceiling. Everyone come in for a checkup today, I want to get a base reading on your vitals. Don't make me come after you."

Everyone started filing out the door to head over to Ratchet's med-bay. Optimus motioned for me to stay behind. Jazz decided to stick around.

"Prowl, do you expect that Megatron will attack before the month is out?"

"I don't know, Optimus. I maybe a tactician in this world, but I have no experience with this kind of thing in real life. I believe we are safe as long as we don't go seeking the Decepticons out. My guess is that this situation is like a shield on empire-building game formats. It only protects you for a certain amount of time, as long as you don't attack anyone. In the meantime, we should focus on learning how this world works and how we are to defend ourselves from the Decepticons."

"Well, Prowler, you seem to have a pretty solid idea on what's going on in this game."

"Prowl, and it's just common sense. Anyone who has played something like Clash of Clans would tell you the same thing."

Optimus spoke up. "Yes, but it was you that brought it up. Most of us are too star-struck by this VR to start comparing it to other games. I have a feeling that you will do well being a tactician. Also, thank you for the mass comm link. That was very helpful."

"It was nothing."

J- "Mech, if that was nothing, I can't wait to see something. The rest of us would still be stumbling around if it weren't for you. The only reason why I know how to use the comm is 'cause you called everyone. You're smart."

P- "Everyone is just as smart. They just use their smarts in different ways. I just happen to be good at troubleshooting."

O- "Prowl, would you be able to make an email detailing how our systems work? You do seem to have a better handle on them than us. It would help out with everyone having a basic understanding."

P- "I will see what I can do. I'll most likely have to find my office first."

O- "See that you do. Now, if you both will excuse me, I have to find the med-bay. I don't want to get wrenched by our medic."

Optimus left the deck at a near trot. Jazz turned his attention back towards me. "So, do you know where the offices are? I'm completely lost."

"Where were you going when you bumped into Bluestreak? Didn't you know where you were going then?"

"No, I was too focused on my audios to pay any mind to my surroundings. After you came along, I followed you since you seemed to know where everything is."

"So, you don't know about the GPS?"

"There's a GPS?"

I guess that I really do need to write that 'Processor 101' if everyone is this confused about it.

Sighing, "I'll explain on the way to my office."

I set off at a rather slow pace; Jazz caught up and matched it.

"So, the GPS. How'd you find it?"

"Shortly after I figured out how to stand, I thought I should find Bluestreak and Smokescreen. Since they have the same frame type, it was logical that they would have the same issues onlining that I did. I chose to find Bluestreak first. When I made that decision, the GPS appeared on my vision screen and I simply followed it to Bluestreak."

"What you're saying is that all you have to do is think, and it appears."

"I believe it has to be a conscious decision for it to happen. If it is a fleeting thought, it will not work."

"Cool. Hang on a sec while I try this."

Pausing, Jazz seemed to turn inward. His visor dimmed as his concentration increased. It brightened back up after 30 seconds.

"Cool, my office is next to yours. Let's go."

He increased his gait. When he noticed that I wasn't keeping up, he stopped. "Prowler, you coming?"

"Prowl, and if I could, I would, Jazz."

"Why can't you?"

I simply fluttered my wings, causing me to lose my balance. I caught myself before Jazz could come back to help me. I straightened back up just as he reached me. I started off again and he fell into step.

"Wow, I didn't know that door wings could throw your balance off so bad."

"Most people probably don't think about it all that much. With the way that Prowl and the others are able to move in TV shows, it's no wonder why everyone assumes that it's easy to move around with them."

"Is it not like carrying a backpack?"

"They are just as heavy as a college backpack. What makes them difficult is wind drag; they can move their center of balance, and the fact is that in real life I don't have them. With time, I should be able to figure out how to cut down on wind drag in order to increase my speed."

"Will you be able to function in battle with those things?"

"I honestly don't know. It is my hope that by the time battles start up I'll have mastered my wings. I should contact Ironhide and get him started on training everyone for combat."

My office door was coming up, with Jazz's on the right of it. Both of our doors had our ranks, and keypads, on them.

"Do you know the password to get in, Prowler?"

"Prowl, and possibly. I believe that it's the same as our Earthside base's doors before we moved in." Quickly, I entered 1234 on the keypad, and the door swished open.

"What is that in your office?"

My office had everything you would expect to find in an office. Desk, computer, bookshelves full of datapads, two guest chairs, and a small couch. What was unexpected was that the chair behind my desk appeared to have a hole and an extra set of armrests at shoulder level.

Walking over to the chair, "I believe that is my chair, Jazz, and it's Prowl."

"Last time I checked, you weren't an octopus. Your chair is messed up."

Slowly sitting down, I found that my wings naturally rested within the invisible grooves of the second set of armrests. The wing rests, that's what I'd be calling them from now on, had swivels. That way, when I wanted to move my wings to a different position they would still be resting on the wing rests and not straining my back cables. I had to resist the urge to wiggle my wings in the rests and giggle.

"Oh, that is your chair. Neat."

"Yes, it is rather comfortable." I turned on my computer. Its screen was similar to a Windows startup screen. I guess that's why they'd asked me which PC I prefer; they wanted to give me a computer similar to what I was used to.

"So, you getting started on that commlink 101?"

"Yes, that and the other systems available on our vision screens. I would also like to get started on the game schedule today. I also have to get in touch with Ironhide to begin training. I would suggest that you begin to develop training strategies for Special Ops."

"Why?"

I deadpanned, "Are you a Special Ops agent in real life? Do you know how to sneak in and out of enemy territory without being detected?"

"You're right. I'll get right on that."

Once he left, I gave in to my urge and wiggled my wings while on the rests. I chuckled at myself for being silly, then promptly got back to work.

I had just pulled up a word document when Jazz came back in. He had a pile of datapads with him. He set them on the couch and pulled one of the guest chairs over to it. He sat down, kicked up his legs, and onlined a datapad.

"Jazz? What are you doing?"

"Working."

"In my office?"

"I thought you would like the company."

"You don't need to do that. Just because the fan…"

"I'm not doing it because of the fanfiction. I'm doing it 'cause you're being forced to work while everyone else is having fun exploring the base."

Oh, I guess he was a friendly player that didn't like the idea of people being alone. "Alright, you can hang out in here. Just don't expect a conversation. I like the room to be quiet when I'm working."

"I'm cool with that."

The room fell into a comfortable silence. While I was typing, I would pause and focus my attention on my view screen. During these pauses, I found a subspace inventory, systems health layout, weapons gauge, targeting, non-memory storage for books and other media, a chronometer, and a comm for contacting the Earthside pagers.

After the third pause, Jazz asked, "Why are you staring?"

Mentally shaking myself out of my inner search, "I wasn't staring."

"Sure you weren't."

"I'm sorry if that looked like I was staring at you. I was just focusing on my vision screen." At home, my Mom would do the same thing to me. Whenever she looked out the window to think, it would look like she was staring at me since I was sitting next to the window.

"Is that what you're calling that? The vision screen?"

"Yes. It's your line of sight and operations screen. Vision Screen."

"Ok, I got it. You almost done with that paper?"

"I believe I've found everything I can at the moment; I just have to send it out. Then I can work on the gaming schedule and get in touch with Ironhide for training."

I saved the doc and clicked the 'send to everyone's commlink' button. I received a copy of the document and placed it into the non-memory storage. Jazz's visor dimmed as he was reading the doc.

"Wow, Prowler. You are a natural at this."

"It's Prowl, and no, I'm not."

A comm from Ratchet appeared over my vision with Jazz's name underneath it. Ratchet must have used the GPS to find out that Jazz and I were hanging out.

Still working on my computer, I thought, {I} 'Prowl here.' Meanwhile, Jazz raised his hand to his audio. "Jazz here."

"Have you two looked at your chronometers yet? It's almost 12:30. Your tanks are probably running on empty right now. Jazz, make sure that Prowl gets energon into his systems and logs out for lunch."

 _'I'm not that hopeless,' I thought-spoke. Jazz was giving me a funny look because he could hear me over the comm but I wasn't talking out loud like him._

"Are you saying that you were planning to take a break within the next five minutes?"

Sheepishly, _'No.'_

Jazz spoke up. "It's ok, Ratchet. I'll take care of Prowler. We'll see you Earthside in five."

The commlink ended. "I forgot to ask earlier, Prowler, but how do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Talk on the comm without talking out loud, while typing."

"You ever work on a paper while talking to friends?"

"Yeah. It's like that?"

"It is exactly like that."

I turned off my computer and, together, we left the office. I figured that it was still safe from the Terror Twins for the time being. With the help of our GPSs, we found the mess hall quickly. It seemed like Ratchet had called everyone about lunch, because everyone was either starting a cube or was signing off.

It was kind of funny, watching bots sign off. Their bodies slumped to the table or fell to the floor when their players left. Some of the players were smart enough to leave for their rooms to sign out. Hound wasn't in the mess hall, so Hannah must have moved him back to his room.

After Jazz and I finished our cubes, I suggested that we go back to my office since that was closer. Jazz signed off on the couch while I searched for my cable controls and locked in my sitting position so I wouldn't fall off my chair.

When I thought, 'log off,' the words appeared over my vision as my systems were powering down.

For a second, it felt like I was about to fall asleep, but then I woke up in my real body.

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-Story): Deep Thought slows to a stop in the middle of a forest. Allora jumps out and looks around.**

 **"This looks like a good place to rest for a little bit, Thought."**

 **She unhooks him so he can transform. "Yeah, it does. When do you think you'll be able to get back to work on the story?"**

 **"Hopefully this weekend. I have some stuff to do that needs my attention."**

 **"The readers will be disappointed."**

 **"Well, we can't have everything. I wish I could just work on this story 24/7, but I have to take care of myself and my commitments first. I'll see if I can't squeeze one more chapter in before the weekend, but no promises."**


	7. Ch6 An Officer's Role

**Author's Note (Mini-Story): A lone figure appears from the forest edge. She is carrying a hiker's backpack and wearing a baseball cap.**

 **"Hello over there," she calls out.**

 **Deep Thought looks up from his datapad. "Hello?"**

 **The girl walks up to him and drops her pack to the ground. "Finally made it. You know that you guys are hard to track down, right?"**

 **"Aaahhh,** **nooooo. Who are you?"**

 **"Oh, sorry, I'm Agent Freelancer D.C. Allora said that I should meet up with you guys here."**

 **"She did?" Thought turns to the train cars and shouts, "Allora, there's a girl here to see you. Says her name is Freelancer."**

 **A crash is heard from the sleeper car. Allora comes barreling out with a hat of some kind in her hand.**

 **"'Lancer, you made it." The girls exchange hugs and Allora turns back to Thought.**

 **"Thought, meet our new Conductor (beta reader). Lancer has offered to make the ride a little bit more comfortable for our readers."**

 **"I thought that you were the conductor."**

 **"Kind of. I'm your engineer (a person who takes care of the engine/story) but was trying to be the conductor ( a person who takes care of the passengers/grammar checker) on the side. It's been a struggle."**

 **Lancer, "Well, I'm here now."**

 **Allora, "And you've already helped go over the earlier chapters. Our passengers are in good hands, Thought."**

 **"Well, if that's the case our readers will be pleased. Welcome aboard. I look forward to working with you. Speaking of which, we should get going; the readers are probably in a fit right now."**

 **Allora helps Lancer get settled in the passenger car while Thought transforms. Allora gets onto Deep Thought's engine.**

 **Lancer switches her baseball cap for the conductor hat. "All aboard."**

* * *

Ch.6 An Officer's Role

Feeling slightly dazed, I stretched to finish waking up. The visor and shield were still lifting away when I put the oxygen mask back on its shelf while reaching for my glasses.

"Hey, Karen, you finally logged out. Do you want to have lunch with me and some of the others?"

"Sure thing, Hannah. Just give me a sec. I'm still kind of waking up."

"Mind if I tag along, gals?"

H- "Not at all, David."

The three of us started making our way to the mess hall when Brandon called out, "Hey, wait up, guys."

We paused long enough for him to catch up before continuing.

B- "Wow, what a trip. I can't believe how realistic that was. Way better than what I've seen before."

D- "You've beta tested VR before?"

B-"I've done a couple of beta tests before but none were this high definition. Everything I checked out today was completely done. No blank or fuzzy spaces."

K-" Have you been outside the base yet?"

B- "No, but I can't wait."

H- "Me too! I can't wait to go hiking again. It feels like forever since we came here."

The number of people dining increased as we neared the mess hall. It appeared that nearly everyone had already logged off the game and had begun eating. We quickly got through the food line and made our way over to where Josh and Kaylie were sitting.

Josh, not my friend in Minnesnowta, was that mandatory super tall friend that everyone seemed to have that not-so-secretly planned how to take over the world. His brunette hair was cropped close to his scalp, and his wire glasses tried to block the world from seeing his shifty brown eyes.

Kaylie, on the other hand, was a curly redhead with green eyes. She was the living proof that the green-eyed red fury was non-existent. In the short two weeks I'd known her, she had never raised her voice at anyone. She was soft spoken and cared about how you were doing. She'd told me once that she wanted to be a special needs nurse, which made her even more awesome in my book. Her heart was a thing of gold.

For once, it seemed like Josh wasn't trying to get Kaylie riled up about humanitarian issues. The game had given them equal ground in order to have a civil conversation.

I was settling down at the table when I caught the tail end of what Josh was saying. "... So it turns out that they aren't painted orange."

Kar- "What's not painted orange?"

"The walls of the game base. You know how we always thought that the Ark was painted orange in the G1 cartoon? Well, I ran into some of the nerd squa…" he decided it was best to rethink that statement when he noticed Hannah's and my death glares. "Scientists. They were goggling over the wall and it turns out that it's a cheap alloy that is naturally orange. If some weird chemical process isn't used, it retains its orange hue. It costs a lot to take that color out. Weird, right?"

Kay- "Does that mean that Omega in G1 is made of inferior metal?"

B- "Doesn't the sparking process make metal stronger?"

D- "Dudes, I know how cool this is, but let's eat first. I want to get back into the game. I was hanging out with another bot when we logged out."

Kay- "Who were you hanging out with?"

"If I told you, I would have to kill you." David's face broke into a grin, "I'm just messing with you."

J- "Would this bot narrow down who you are in the game?"

D- "Well, if everyone knew that I logged out with said bot around, and he started telling bots that my character was the only one with him, it would make the game way too easy for people."

"What game?" I had been following the conversation while munching, and where David was going sounded too close to home.

J- "Oh, nothing, just that some of the guys and I have a bet going on. Which one of us will figure out who is who first? David says he'll have everyone down within two weeks."

A sinking feeling was starting to develop in my stomach. "You do remember that we aren't supposed to reveal who we are in the game, right?"

D- "I'm not asking them to reveal anything. You can figure out who is who just by watching when people sign in and out. When Prowl finally posts the schedule, everyone will be able to figure out who is who."

Blast! He was totally right. If I posted a schedule that was the exact same for every week, everyone would know who was who by next Friday. I had the edge of having a character not match how I acted in real life, but mixing up the schedule would only delay the inevitable. Everyone would know that I was the wrong Prowl.

Hasbro must have been nuts to think that we would be able to hide who we were for the entire test. We all lived under the same roof, for crying out loud. This was worse than a small village; they, at least, had more people and you could get away from everyone.

Was there a way to make it look like I logged in at a different time?

Since I was almost done with my meal, I decided to get up. "I'll see you guys in the game."

Everyone- "See you."

I stopped by the powder room for a sec then made my way back to the VR room. It appeared that seven other players had finished lunch early in order to play. I didn't bother reading their nameplates; I was too stressed out from my mini-revelation.

If I could delay my startup sequence, I could make it look like I logged in long after I actually did. I would just have to focus on staying deep enough in my processor so it could keep my engine from increasing its output. If Jazz heard my engine start up, he'd know that I was only faking being offline.

I got settled in my pod and the words 'Game Start' appeared on my visor.

* * *

The transition to my processor didn't feel as long. Yes, I was falling into blackness, but I didn't feel like I was as lost. There was no click, but more of a slide back into place, like the difference between forcing a door closed and its closing on its own.

I mentally shouted out, 'Delay the startup sequence!' when I felt like I was back in my memory section. The path was still underneath me but it dimmed when I shouted out. Like it was saying, 'I'll wait.'

Ok, now what? I was just sitting on my mental butt at the moment and I couldn't tell how much time I'd already spent within my processor. I couldn't access anything except my memories. They were just sitting in their coded pile, waiting to be disturbed.

But I didn't want to mess with them at the moment; I didn't know how that would affect me in real life yet. Ratchet, I'm fairly certain that he was Raphael, had brought up a major concern when he was working on Smokey. We didn't know how this game would affect our brains yet.

I wondered if I could imagine a landscape for my helm. Hehe, probably not. But maybe.

I started to think of my imaginary escape. It was an old growth, upper-midwestern temperate forest with a river running through it. All kinds of hardwood trees were scattered about. There was a waterfall that crashed into a calm pool, perfect for swimming. At the southern end of the pool, it turned into a stream that slowly worked its way out of the heart of the forest. There were a couple of sunning rocks on the left side of the pool. There was a cave hidden behind the fall, and the only way in was by a hidden path that I knew was there. The sound of birds singing and creatures moving could be heard in the distance.

Wow, it worked. I looked down at my feet and saw my little old feet covered in the VR suit bottoms. Underneath my feet was the path to awareness, now barely visible underneath the grass now populating my mind. I couldn't see my memory pile anymore, but I got the distinct impression that if I wandered into the cave, I would find it—the perfect hiding spot.

Save this place, I thought.

" _Dreamscape saved for future reference,_ " I seemed to hear and see the words before they faded away. Dreamscape. Cool, I can't wait to see what I can do with this. A dream within a dream. Hehe.

I should probably start booting up, but let's take it slow. I started down the faintly glowing path, taking my time to enjoy the scenery my imagination was supplying. I felt, more than saw, my engine rev up and my venting increase. I knew what was going to happen now, so I braced myself.

 _You're sitting on a chair with wing rests. There is a desk, two guest chairs, couch, computer, and a bookshelf full of datapads. Jazz is currently sitting on the couch holding a datapad. He just paused in his reading and is now tilting his helm while watching you closely._

Turn down door wings to 70 percent power and transfer them to subconscious process. I mentally relaxed as I felt my wings' bombardment lessen. I turned on my audios and onlined my optics.

"Have a nice, long lunch, Prowl?"

I began unlocking my cables. Thank goodness my wings were locked down, or he would have seen me spaz out from too much sensory info.

"Yes. How was your break, Jazz?"

"It was cool. What's up with your systems?"

Did my engine rev while I was in the Dreamscape? Shoot! He'd know that I was faking being offline. Wait, didn't he just ask if I had a nice, long lunch?

"There is nothing wrong with my systems, Jazz."

"But I heard your engine stall. You were revving up OK, then all of a sudden your engine starting stalling for like 30 seconds. After that, you opened your optics. That doesn't seem normal."

For 30 seconds my engine stalled? My door wings! While I was dealing with them I must have slowed my engine to near stalling. I'd have to talk to Smokescreen, Bluestreak, and Ratchet to see if that was normal.

"It was most likely nothing, Jazz, but I will speak to Ratchet later today." Turning on my computer, "I would suggest that we get back to work."

Jazz seemed hesitant. "Jazz, I'm alright. That was just a game glitch; it doesn't affect my health in any way. I am alright."

"Okay, Prowler."

"Prowl."

We settled back into the silence of work again. How was I supposed to manage a schedule for everyone? I'd never had to manage anyone but myself before. Maybe I could ask someone who was a manager in real life, but who? Optimus? No, I had no idea who he was and what he did. Hound? No, Hannah might have done surveys before but I don't think she ever managed the people working with her. Plus, it would totally reveal that I'm Prowl to her just because I didn't know who else to ask.

Ratchet? Yes! Doc Raf! He probably had to manage patient schedules. I could ask him to send over an outline of a schedule he would approve of. It could also include graveyard shifts and breaks to take care of our real selves. I'd just use a randomizer and edit where the names landed so that it would work out.

I shot Ratchet an email and, while waiting for his reply, I emailed to Ironhide about training. Ratchet sent me a rough schedule including overlap times for changing of the shifts. Ironhide said he would get started when the schedule was posted.

I filled out the schedule and sent it to everyone. I received pings of confirmation and groans. Now, what?

Maybe I should work on my balance in one of the training rooms for a little bit. I didn't want to fall over at an awkward moment. I looked up what rooms were available on my computer and signed one out. I turned off my computer and pushed myself out of my chair.

"Jazz, I'm going to inspect the training facilities."

Jazz started to get up. "I'll go with you, Prowler. Just let me put my 'pads away, and we'll get going."

"Prowl, and 'we' are not going." I went over to my bookshelf and grabbed a datapad at random.

Might as well look like I was working while walking.

"I would like you to hold a meeting in your office with the rest of the Special Ops forces. Megatron might have given us a month, but that is hardly any time to prepare. We need to use every moment wisely; otherwise, we'll be wiped out in our first encounter. Your team is a vital component. I'll need Special Ops ready to move out before the ceasefire is over. The Autobots need all the intelligence your team can provide. Which Decepticons are part of the game? Where is their base of operations? I also need the team to begin scouting procedures, and training of those procedures to the rest of the Autobots. We only have a map of the base. We have no idea of what is outside these walls."

By this point, I had made my way over to Jazz and was standing in front of him. "I need you to be T.I.C. right now. There is only so much we can accomplish while in the same room. I know that you don't like the idea of bots being forced to work alone, but that is the job of the officers. Work alone in different offices, communicate between the offices so the troops are not left leaderless. It's not an easy job, and I need you to do your part in order to do mine."

Jazz's face plates were set in a hard line, his visor hiding his optics from my sight. I couldn't tell what he was thinking. I tentatively brought my wing sensory information to the front of my mind. Standing this close to Jazz, I could feel his minute body shifts. His visor dimmed slightly, and if I hadn't been using my wings, I wouldn't have noticed. He was thinking and didn't want me to see. It felt like the area around his optics stayed hard while his mouth broke into a smile.

"You take this game way too seriously, but sure thing, Prowler."

He wasn't happy about it and was trying to hide it with a joke. I pushed my wing sensory information back to the subconscious part of my processor.

"It's Prowl, and no, I don't take this game seriously; my character does."

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-Story): Deep Thought pulls up to a tiny town station. Allora jumps off and begins getting Thought hooked up with some water and energon.**

 **Conductor Lancer gets out of the passenger car. "Hey, Allora, Thought! I'm going into town to grab some supplies."**

 **Allora and Thought chorus, "Okay."**

 **As Lancer is leaving, a mailman runs up to Allora. "Are you Allora?"**

 **"Yes, I am."**

 **"I have some mail for you. It was sent ahead from the last post station."**

 **Taking the mail sack, "Thanks a bunch."**

 **DT-"What'd we get?"**

 **"Let's see, Stedler2 is wondering how much the VR game is going to be like the cartoon. Um… think of it like they were using the style of G1 but aren't going to have events like the episodes. It would be like having a cheat sheet if the events were based directly off of the cartoon."**

 **"Plus, how fun would the game be if everyone knew what was going to happen next?"**

 **"Right! Ok, SunnySides agrees with me that door wings seem like a pain in the butt. He's a little bit mad that he can't pick up the plot yet, but that's a good thing. A little mystery never hurt anyone. Except the crime-related ones; those hurt people a lot."**

 **Both take a moment for the unsolved crime mysteries around the world and for the families that are still wondering what happened to their loved ones.**

 **"What's the next letter, Allora?"**

 **"Giddy says hi, she likes Karen/Prowl's moment of silly with her wings and is wondering if….. Thought, was there a wall in the middle of the tracks?"**

 **"No, I would think that I would have noticed that. Why? Allora?"**

 **Allora falls over from shock.** **Apparently Jazz and Prowl broke the writer.**


	8. Ch7 Self DefenseKind Of

**Author's Note (Mini-Story): Lancer comes back with groceries and another mail sack. "What happened to Allora?"**

 **"I don't know! She was reading a letter from Giddy, asked something about walls, and fainted."**

 **"Well, let's see what it says." Lancer puts down her bags and picks up the letter from where Allora dropped it.**

 **"Bwahahaha!"**

 **"What?"**

 **"Do you know what the fourth wall is?"**

 **"I've heard of it."**

 **"Well, not only did Jazz and Prowl break it, they built and broke the fifth wall, too!"**

 **TOOOT!**

 **Allora startles awake. "Deep Thought?"**

 **Silence.**

 **L- "Bwahahaha!"**

 **"What happened?"**

 **"Prowl and Jazz caused Deep Thought to crash. You too, apparently."**

 **"Oh, great. It will take him like five minutes to reboot."**

 **"Well, while we are waiting, some mail came in for chapter 6. The mailman said you already got the mail for chapter 5. Did you finish it before fainting?"**

 **"I think I have one more," rummaging in the sack. "It's from Secret; he says, and I quote, "HURRY! U NEED 2 GET MOVIN' BEFORE DA CRAZED FANS GET YA! THEY'LL CHASE YA 2 DA ENDS OF DA EARTH WTH DIS EPIC FANFIC!" With the way he writes, it's like he is implying that he is, in fact, Jazz, and he will hack my computer to hunt me down."**

 **Wiggling her hands, "Maybe is he is Jazz, woooo."**

 **"I doubt it. Let's take a look at the chapter 6 stuff."**

 **The girls settle down to read the fan mail.**

 **A-"This one is from SunnySides, *looks sheepish* I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend in any way. I tend to refer to readers as 'mech,' so '** hims **,' when I don't know their gender. Sorry, femmes are cool. I should know; I'm one, too."**

 **L- "This one is from Giddy. I agree with you that Allora is doing awesome with the idea wagon. *winks* I bet too that the person who started the betting pool is Smokescreen in the game too. Thank you for your support, I'm proud to be Allora's Beta Reader/Conductor."**

 **A- "This one is from Secret. Welcome to the club. I do the same thing 24/7. I don't know how I'm awake. Also, for those of you that have fanfiction accounts, I write you personal replies through PM when you review so that's why I don't write those in the Author's Notes. Hugs to everyone."**

 **D- "Allora? Lancer? What happened?"**

 **A-"Prowl."**

 **L- "Jazz."**

 **D- "Oh…. Well, I'm awake now. Let's get going."**

 **Allora and Lancer get into their respective places and, together, hit the rails.**

* * *

Ch. 7 Self Defense…. Kind Of

"It's Prowl, and no, I don't take this game seriously; my character does."

"If you say so, Prowler."

Jazz left my office, arms full of data pads. Shaking my head, I made my way out the door and locked it. I decided to keep the code the way it was since no one would ever think that Prowl would have a password that everyone would know.

Since I saw several bots log out in the mess hall, I figured that I should check on them to see how they were faring waking up from falling over. Several moans and groans could be heard coming from the hall on my approach.

Bumblebee stumbled out from the hall holding his noggin.

"Are you alright, Bumblebee?"

He looked up at me, trying to hold back a wince. "I logged out by one of the tables in there. My frame hit the table on the way down. When I onlined, I only saw the floor and hit my helm on the way back up. I think I got dents the size of Texas on both sides of my helm. Boy, is Ratchet going to be sore at me."

"Based off of the sounds coming from the mess hall at the moment, I would think Ratchet is going to be angry at quite a few bots. Are there any serious injuries?"

"I think one bot broke his olfactory sensor. The bots sitting at the tables were the lucky ones; there was less height to fall from."

With that, Bee started off for the med-bay and Ratchet's wrench. I poked my helm in and saw what Bee had described: bots waking up from their falls, rubbing where they had dented themselves. One bot, Cliffjumper, was holding his olfactory sensor. He must have been sitting on one of the bar stools and fell off it. The height would have broken that delicate piece of equipment.

Shaking my helm, I turned towards the training rooms. Onlining my datapad, I set it so the screen was transparent enough to see where I was walking. I had my GPS set for the training rooms and to warn me about trouble spots.

 _Praxian Gardens: The art of growing crystals for pleasure and beneficial health improvement._

 _Our beloved planet home world, Cybertron, is the sacrificed body of our creator, Primus. He gave his body so that we, his children, could flourish. With this gift comes great responsibility. As his children, it is our duty to protect the wild-lands and protect the balance of life. Crystal gardening is a reminder of where we come from and a way to remember our role on this plane of existence._

Wow, that's deep. I guessed the game designers were really getting into it if they had something this detailed on something that should be mundane. Just how long had this been in the works?

"Hi, Prowl."

I looked up from my datapad to see Hound and Mirage coming from the opposite direction. Hound/Hannah was waving her hand in greeting, whereas Mirage was just 'like, whatever.' Wow, it looked like I wasn't the only one to have their fanfiction buddy hanging out with them right out of the gate.

"Hound. Mirage. Have you two been outside the base yet?"

"See, Hound? What did Prowl do? Ask us if we've been off base. Not 'Hi, isn't this weird?' or 'Isn't this cool?'"

Hound just rolled his optics at Mirage. Hannah must hate that 'whatever' attitude, too. Should I even be calling her Hannah in my processor while in the game? Geez, gender and mixed-up identity. No wonder Hasbro said not to talk about who was who. It got way too confusing. I'd better just call Hannah 'Hound' in the game, and think of her as him. Way too confusing.

H- "We went over to where the map says the entrance is, but it's blocked. There is a bunch of boulders in the way. I have no idea how long it will take to dig out."

"It will never get done, not with the schedule you made, Prowl." Mirage was giving me the death glare. I checked the schedule and found that he was on one of the first graveyard shifts, while Hound was on morning. Oops. I guess that I just made an enemy.

P-"I'll talk with Beachcomber and the other scientists about it. Thank you for bringing it to my attention. Are you off to meet with Jazz?"

H-"Yes, actually; we got the comm shortly before running into you."

P-"Could you relay the information you just told me? I believe Special Ops should make it their goal to find another way out. There is always more than one exit."

H- "Sure thing, Prowl. Mirage, stop being a grump, already. Geez."

M- "I'm not a grump. I'm just frustrated."

They both continued to argue around the corner. Sorry, Mirage, but I couldn't change the schedule just because somebot didn't like it. Besides, the schedule wasn't set for the whole game. It was going to change every week so everyone would have their fair shot at optimal play time.

I went back to my book and continued down the hall. It wasn't long 'til I bumped into another set of bots.

"Prowl!"

When I looked up this time, it was Red Alert and Inferno. Inferno seemed to have a sheepish grin on his face. I briefly wondered why.

Red- "I can't get into the security room. How am I supposed to know if the Decepticons are really keeping the ceasefire if I can't get in?!"

P- "You didn't comm or email me about this issue, because?"

Red- "Those things could be hacked! I'll bet you that the Decepticons are already in the base as we speak and planting a bomb."

No wonder Inferno was trying not to laugh. Red Alert was getting too worked up already, and we weren't even through day one. Then again, I shouldn't be judging since I was kind of doing the same thing. But, who else was going to give up their game time to get things in gear?

P- "Did you try the code that was the default code for our rooms Earthside?"

I- "I told Red here that it could be the code, but he said that no one would use a code so simple for a Cybertronian ship."

Red- "No one would! This is an advanced interstellar battleship; no one would use a code so simple as 1234 to protect the most important room."

Was this guy for real? I hoped that he was just a really good actor, 'cause it was downright scary seeing someone this paranoid.

P-"Red Alert, when I found that my office was locked, I used the Earthside default code. Now, since my office is just as important as the security room, would it not be logical that the default code for the security room would be the same as for my office?"

Red Alert seemed to deflate with my statement. Boy, did he look tiny next to Inferno.

Inferno chuckled. "See, Red? It was just a simple default code. Come on; let's go check if all the cameras are working."

"Okay," was his sullen reply as they turned back down the branching hall they'd appeared from. I didn't get to take another step before a small explosion shook the base.

Decepticons!

A comlink from Skyfire appeared over my vision. "Hey, guys. Don't freak out; that blast wasn't Decepticon based. Wheeljack found some unprocessed ore in the science labs and tried to take the orange dye out of it. He nearly offed poor Percy. Don't worry; everyone is safe. Jackie's paint is a little singed but we all made it behind one of the lab benches. He couldn't go one day without trying to blow something up. *Chuckle* Have a good day; Skyfire out."

Chuckling to myself, I continued down to the training rooms. I guess that I wasn't the only one going overboard being my character today.

* * *

When I got to the training rooms, I found the Terror Twins themselves standing in front of one of the rooms. They kept typing access codes, but the door wouldn't open for them.

"Something wrong, Sunstreaker, Sideswipe?"

Sideswipe stayed at the keypad while Sunstreaker turned towards me.

"This fragging door isn't letting us in."

Great, and now the Cybertronian swears were starting up. At least it wasn't English swears, but that might not last too long.

"Is the door telling you why the code isn't working?"

Sides- "It says that the room is taken or something, but when we checked the room status it said it was empty."

Well, at least that function works. "Sideswipe, I signed out that room."

Sunstreaker batted his twin's helm at that. "You doofus. Why didn't you check the room sign-out sheets?"

"Ouch! How was I supposed to know that the room status didn't list the bot's name? It just said the room was taken, not if the bot was using it yet."

Sunstreaker snorted and turned on his heels for another room. Sideswipe gave me a salute. "Whatever you used for a passcode, good job. See ya."

I put my datapad into my subspace; it was kind of like putting a phone in your pocket. You don't really think about it. I waited until the Twins had gone into their own training room to enter my passcode. If my passcode could keep the Twins out, I didn't want them to find out what it was.

After locking the door, I made my way over to the terminal for the room. It looked like a podium you would find in a lecture hall. It had a tiny computer and wires poking out all over the place. I turned on the computer.

 _Simulation Menu:_

 _Obstacle Course_

 _Hand-to-Hand Combat_

 _Target Practice_

 _Sneak Around_

 _Scenic Walk_

 _Padded Everything_

 _Input Your Own Simulation_

Well-padded everything sounded promising. If I was going to be falling a lot, I would want to do it on pads, especially if I was going to fall on my wings. I had to figure out the best way to land on them; otherwise I was going to take myself out in battle by injuring them.

I selected the Padded Everything simulation, and the room started to pixilate. Then, every orange surface turned into a pad, and the podium slid back into the wall. The door completely disappeared.

Now I was in a simulation in a simulation. My life was just too weird.

Walking to the center of the room, I straightened into an English Royal Guard position. The best way to find out how my wings might make me fall would be to test different wing positions while in this stance.

Every time I fell, I made note of where my wings where and which direction I fell because of them. I ended up landing on my poor wings over a dozen times. Thankfully, the pads were based off of movie stunt pads—puffed full of air that would release when something hit it. It slowed and cushioned my falls so my wings only ended up a little sore.

After an hour of testing falls, I figured that I should practice walking around and going through situations that would force me to change my center of gravity.

"Room Terminal on, please."

The terminal slid out from the wall and I booted up the computer. This time, I picked Obstacle Course. The computer asked what level of difficulty I wanted, so I went with the lowest level. Might as well start off with something easy, like fast walking.

The course that was made for me was just a few items to walk around, over, under, and through. It would have been easy if I was in my real body. I wasn't.

Lifting my pede high to go over a log caused me to start tilting backward. Trying to save myself from a fall, I stomped the pede down while shifting my wings so most of their weight would be towards the middle of my back.

I didn't fall. Straightening slowly, I tried to keep most of my door wings' weight on the center of my back. This caused me to lean forward like I was carrying a backpack. That wasn't about to fly anytime soon.

How could Prowl move with these things? In all of the fanfictions that I had ever read, Prowl was able to slink like a cat. Yet here I was, nearly falling over from just lifting my pede up high. How did he do it?

Prowl was like a cat, slink like a cat, cat, cat, cat, cat. CAT! Cats had tails! Prowl's door wings were his tail! Cats didn't focus on their tails, they just moved.

With my mini-realization, I started trying to go into a run. I relaxed my door wings and found that they naturally went into positions that would reduce wind drag. I pretended that I was at DQ, slipping and sliding across greased floors, and my wings naturally flared and moved based on where I was going.

I made it through the obstacle course three times without falling once. Once I stopped worrying about where my wings needed to be, I was able to balance. Yay, I did it!

"Terminal, please."

The terminal slid back out from its little wall. I turned back on the computer. I should try some basic Taekwondo punches and kicks on one of the practice drones before I called it a day. I'd used to be a black belt, before dropping it so I would have more time for homework.

"Would you like to do basic hand combat?"

"Yes, please."

Three drones appeared from the wall and started cycling.

Uh oh; my doorwings hiked up high in alarm. What was I doing to do? I was too rusty to even defend myself from one drone. How were three basic hand combat?

On my vision screen, a new app appeared. There was a minibot doing a kick with the word 'Auto' underneath. Not really thinking, I okayed it.

My ability to feel my limbs disappeared, and my body started moving like it was a puppet. The sounds of parts tearing and breaking filled my audios. Grease and lubricant covered my hands and splattered over my body.

Stop! STOP!

More drones were coming out of the walls. My body was slaughtering them.

This wasn't right! Let me go! Let ME GO! I CAN'T STOP!

I forced myself to feel my limbs again and wrenched myself away from the drones. Both the room and app program terminated.

I fell to my knee plates, armor rattling on my protoform and my wings shaking.

What was THAT?! That wasn't me!

With a shaking hand, I pressed my left audio and pulled up Ratchet's name on my comlink menu.

He answered on the second ring.

"Prowl! If you have broken something, I swear that I'll turn you into a toaster!"

"Raf…. th.. thi...think… I.. .. go..ing...into...syst..st..em….shock."

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-Story): Deep Thought pulls to a stop by a small stream. Allora and Lancer jump out and help him unhook from the rest of the cars. He transforms and stretches. Allora goes back into the dining car and brings out a picnic basket.**

 **A- "Lunch break, everyone. We'll get back to the story after a short break."**

 **L-"Side Note. All of the chapters have been updated."**


	9. Ch8 After Shock

**Author's Note (Mini-Story): Deep Thought finishes taking out the last of the Deceptiglitches plaguing the break site.**

 **D- "It's safe to come out, gals."**

 **The girls come out from their hiding spot and get set up quickly. They don't want to be caught by the glitches again.**

* * *

Ch. 8 Aftershock

"Stay where you are, don't disconnect the comm, and keep talking to me. We're coming for you. Can you tell me what your health status is telling you?"

"I.. 's . t. .. .my .. .eeeeed.. ..ow..ing...down….ener..gon...pump...and..sp..ark..pulse...as... ... .or..or...wings...sending...info….but...by..but….not... .receiv..ving."

"Karen, keep talking. Your systems are crashing. You need to stay awake. We are almost there."

" .or...is...is...lo..ck..ed….you..you..you...ne..ee...ed….code."

"We know, 1234. It's the same as the Earthside default code."

"No….I..I...I...cha...chang..ed...it."

"What's the code?"

"Me..meg..mega..sn..sna..snob….Megasnob…. Let..let..letters...like...key..key..key..pad...on.. ..phone."

The door swished open right after I said that. Ratchet and Optimus came barreling in.

"Prime! Hold him still while I get this into his systems."

Optimus held my shoulders and helm while Ratchet jammed a needle into my neck cables.

I felt the thick fluid enter my energon lines. My system alerts started offlining and my senses started to return to me. The sensory information from my wings was now coming in fuzzy compared to the blank slate of the shock.

Bots were converging by the now-open door. Optimus was still holding me gently so I wouldn't fall and hit my helm. Ratchet shined a light into my optics.

"Well, your pupils are starting to respond to light like normal." He held up his hand. "How many fingers?"

"With the thumb?"

"With the thumb."

"Five."

"Okay, Optimus, I believe it's safe to transport him to the med bay. Pick him up bridal style. Slowly, now."

Optimus cradled my back plates below the wings, and my knee joints. As he began to lift me up, I naturally clasped my hands behind his neck cables and my wings hitched up high like a tom peacock, shielding my face from sight.

Optimus 'oomphed' when my wings changed their position, but he adjusted to it well. When he was standing comfortably, he nodded to Ratchet to lead the way.

"Lead on, Ratchet. I've got him."

Ratchet turned to the congregated bots and started waving his hands."Everyone, clear the way. There is nothing to see. Move it before you lose it."

The bots scattered like the Red Sea to make a path for us.

"What happened to Prowl?"

I wasn't sure which bot asked, but I heard Ratchet reply.

"We don't know. Don't worry, he'll be fine. You just get back to what you were doing."

I couldn't tell how many bots left to go back to whatever it was they were doing before, or how many followed the spectacle.

I couldn't focus on anything. I desperately wanted to go to sleep, but the strobing lights overhead and Optimus' thunderous pede-falls were keeping me awake.

I ended up resting my helm on the dark cables between his shoulder plates and neck. It felt just like my dad when I was hugging him. My head just naturally rested in that spot. It was safe and comforting.

"Prowler? What happened?"

That sounded like Jazz. I lifted my helm from where it was resting and peered around my wings to see why we were stopped.

Jazz was standing in the hallway, flanked by Bumblebee, Hound, Mirage, Trailbreaker, and Blaster.

R-"We don't know, Jazz. I suggest that you move so we can get Prowl to the med bay."

Jazz's team moved out of the way. They must have decided to follow us, 'cause Hound spoke up.

"Where'd you find him?"

R- "He was in one of the training rooms. I had just finished Prime's physical when Prowl commed me. He said that he was going into shock. I have no idea what he did in there."

We must have been nearing the med bay, 'cause Ratchet said, "You lot, stay out. We'll update you if anything changes."

We entered the med bay and Optimus went to put me down on the nearest berth. I didn't let go of his neck.

O- "I need to put you down now."

P-"Not the….berth...door wings."

He chuckled, "Then where do you suggest I put you?"

P- "Chair….in my office. Code to unlock the door…... is the default one."

R- "'Aid, go over to Prowl's office and grab his chair."

First Aid scampered through the crowd that was forming in front of the med bay. While we were waiting for 'Aid to come back, Ratchet inserted an energon line into my systems and draped me in an orange blanket thing that was sewn so that the top was a one-piece section that then split into three panels to fit around my wings. It had snaps to close it up after it was put on. It was heated.

First Aid came back a short while later with my black office chair. Optimus set me down on it gently. I shifted the wing rests so my wings would point off to the left, pulled myself into the fetal position, and wrapped the blanket around tighter.

Ratchet appeared to lock the med bay doors before coming back over to me. He pulled out a rust stick from his subspace and held it out to me.

"Suck on this. You need this world's version of sugar in your systems."

With a shaking hand, I took the stick and inserted it into my mouth. The rust stick tasted like a chocolate-coated pretzel stick, the rust being the chocolate bit and the metal having a sprinkling of salt on it. Yummy.

Ratchet crossed his arms in front of his chest plates.

"Now, Karen, care to explain why you were in that training room alone, and what you did to cause you to nearly crash?"

First Aid tried to look busy and Optimus simply leaned against a berth nearby. I guess that Ratchet didn't care about First Aid knowing who I was in real life. He would need to know if Ratchet was unavailable in an emergency.

"I wanted to practice balancing and walking around."

"Why wasn't anyone with you?"

I pulled my helm in like a turtle. "I didn't want people to see Prowl mess up."

First Aid dropped whatever it was he was holding and Optimus covered his faceplates to stifle his laughter, even though he had a battle mask on. I guess old habits were hard to break.

Ratchet pinched his nose bridge and offlined his optics. "You didn't want people to see Prowl mess up."

Yeah, now that I thought about it, it really had been a dumb idea. I could have at least invited Bluestreak and Smokescreen. They were having the same issues as me, for crying out loud.

Ratchet finally onlined his optics. "What, exactly, did you do, so bots don't go repeating it?"

"Well… I used the Padded Everything simulation first to practice falling safely. Then I went over to the obstacle course simulation, set at the lowest level. Once I was able to go through the course three times without falling, I went over to the hand-to-hand combat simulation so I could practice some of the TaeKwonDo moves I remember from my black belt days."

Ratchet rolled his finger in the 'go on' gesture. "What happened next?"

"After the system asked if I wanted to do basic hand combat, three drones walked out from the walls. I didn't know what to do, but a new app appeared on my vision screen. It had a picture of a bot kicking and the word, 'Auto,' underneath it. I sort of 'clicked' the program, and the next thing I knew, I couldn't control my body. I couldn't feel my limbs at all. It was like I was trapped in my skull watching a robot dictate my actions. *shivering* It was like a hurricane: no emotion, just destruction. Those drones didn't stand a chance. Something without emotion shouldn't be in control like that; it isn't natural."

F- "Why would a program like that be in our helms, Ratchet?"

If I wasn't mistaken, it sounded like 'Aid's voice was shaking just a little bit. I guessed I wasn't the only one weirded out at the idea of being a puppet. Although I was technically the puppeteer of this body, I just didn't like the idea of something inhuman wresting control away from me.

R- "I don't know, 'Aid. A system designed to make battle easier for us players, perhaps?"

O- "Well, whatever the reason why it's there, we need to find a way of uninstalling it. If Prowl's frame was able to do that much damage to the drones and, mentally, to Karen, I fear what the experience would be like for the frontliners and Special Ops mechs."

"'Aid and I will look into uninstalling it safely. For now, we should send out a notice stating that it is a faulty app that causes bots to go into shock. We don't want some poor bot finding it by accident like Karen, here."

Ratchet turned to First Aid. "'Aid, go Earthside and get the med bay ready. I'm going to send copies of game system files over to our Earthside computer so we can go over the material offline. Also, could you tell the saps waiting outside that Prowl is fine?"

First Aid put away the tool he was holding. "Sure, Ratchet. Do you want me to remind them that there is a mandatory physical Earthside after everyone logs off?"

R-"Yes, that would be good. Have one of the private rooms prepared for Karen; I want to observe her tonight to prevent possible relapses."

First Aid left the med bay for his room. The doors opened to let him out, and an excited murmur was heard for a second before the doors closed again. I think I heard Prowl's name mentioned at least ten times in the brief second the doors were open.

"Now, Optimus, I'm going to go look in my office for processor protocols and to send out that e-mail." His finger shot over to point at me. "Don't let that glitch leave that chair 'til she is done with that rust stick. Make sure she gets back to her room safely."

Ratchet turned his hard glare towards me. "Eat that stick slowly, and if you try to move from that chair before you're done, I'll weld you to it."

P- "Don't worry, Ratchet. I don't plan on moving for a bit yet; I'm too comfortable to move right now. Can I get a blanket like this for my room? It's comfy."

His optics softened slightly at that. "I'll see what I can do. I'd also like to have your chair replicated by Huffer so we don't have to go retrieve it every time you malfunction. I'll have him send it back once it is done."

P- "Okay."

Ratchet disappeared into his office, leaving Optimus and me to figure out how to carry on the conversation.

"So, Karen, how's the game so far? Besides the shock, I mean."

"Okay, so far. Making schedules isn't that fun, but who else will do it?"

*chuckle* "Not too many people would have cared to start working when they thought it was going to be all fun and games."

"What have you been doing all day?"

"When everyone was getting their checkups, I was walking around. This place is huge. I think I've only seen a fifth of the entire ship."

"It is awfully big, isn't it?"

"It sure is."

An uncomfortable silence fell over us, the kind that calls for a comical cricket chirp.

"Soooo, Karen. You find acting as Prowl easy?"

"Sort of. It's helpful having an actress and a soldier for your parents. They are pretty good at teaching you how to pretend to be a stiff."

*chuckle* "I would imagine."

"Op, what did you do before the game? You don't have to tell me your name or anything like that, but I just want to know for future reference. I have no idea what people did before the game except for Ratchet and Hound, and that's only 'cause I know them in real life."

Optimus held his hand up to stop my mini-ramble. I couldn't tell if he was smiling because the battle mask was in the way, but I think I could see his optics crinkle in merriment.

"I understand, Karen."

He sat himself down on the berth he was leaning against.

"Before the announcement, I was a trucker. I would travel across the country for two to three weeks at a time and then spend a few days' break with my girlfriend. We own an apartment together. Ariel is her name. She loves the Transformers, and always joked that I was her Optimus. We've been together for three years, now."

"That's great, congrats. Was Ariel the one to suggest that you sign up for the contest?"

"Yes, she was. When she found out about it, she told me that we should both sign up. We matched each other so perfectly in real life that we would be unstoppable in the game. During the three months of waiting, I figured that we weren't going to become part of the Alpha team, so I decided it was time to push our relationship to the next level and proposed to her."

"What did she say?"

"She said yes, of course, but that very same night my letter came in."

"Oh, no! That's horrible!"

"Yeah, it was. I wanted to cancel my application right there and then, but Ariel said that the team needed me. I was their Optimus and I couldn't just abandon them. She then said that if she had to wait three years to become engaged to me, she'd be able to wait 'til after this test was over to marry me. I just pray that she doesn't find someone else while waiting. I feel horrible, not being able to, at least, write her."

This was just too sad; here was this guy who was kind enough to be Optimus Prime, who had just asked his girlfriend to be his wife but then got dragged away by something he didn't think he would be a part of. He looked so crestfallen. He needed a hug, right then and there.

I set my rust stick off to the side and slowly got up from my chair. I still had the blanket on when I walked over to him and simply wrapped my arms around him.

He started at first, then returned the hug, being careful of my wings.

P- "I know this is rough, but it sounds like you have found the real deal: a nice gal who is not only willing to put up with you being gone for weeks at a time, but also tells you to go for it when it means she will have to wait. That is something that few find. I think she'll be waiting for you on the other side of that airlock when all of this is over."

I pulled away after that to see that his optics were tearing over with what appeared to be water. His battle mask was lowered so I could see his small, sad smile.

"Thanks, Karen, I needed to hear that. *chuckle* I would suggest you get back on your chair and finish your rust stick before Raf comes back to check on you, or he'll have both our hides."

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-Story): Deep Thought pulls up to the safe house. Allora and Lancer jump out to help him unhook from the other train cars.**

 **L- "I'll get us checked in."**

 **Lancer disappears inside.**

 **D-"Are you sure that you won't have time this week to work on another chapter?"**

 **A- "Sorry, Thought, but I have to study for this final coming up. I need to beat the curve. Plus, this gives the Fanfiction team time to get rid of the Deceptiglitches running around. Can you pull up the Ch.7 reviews on your vision screen?"**

 **D- "We have one non-user review from Guest. Sorry about that; glitch is acting goofy for us at the moment. Hopefully future chapters don't act up. "**

 **A-"Yeah, it's acting so weird right now. I can't tell how many people are reading the new chapters even though I see the reviews."**

 **D-"I blame the Decepticons. They sent Deceptiglitches out to get us.**


	10. Ch9 Double Check

**Author's Note (Mini-Story): Allora comes tearing out of the safe house. "Freeeeedddodoooommmmmm!" She then goes running around Deep Thought.**

 **Deep Thought just gives her a funny look and turns to Lancer. "What's wrong with her?"**

 **Lancer shrugs her shoulders. "She's just happy to be able to work on the story again. She had a little cabin fever this past week."**

 **D-"Fever? Do we need to get her to a doctor or something?"**

 **Allora pauses in her running around to pat Thought on the knee plate. "It's ok, Thought, it's not that kind of fever. It just means that I got tired of sitting in my house all day doing nothing but studying. I'm soooooo ready to get back to this story."**

 **D-"Alright, let's get going, then."**

 **They get all set up and start heading down the tracks.**

* * *

Ch.9 Double Check

After I had finished my rust stick, Ratchet chased Optimus and me out of the medbay, reminding me that my office chair was being sent to Huffer for the time being and that both of us were to visit the Earthside medbay after we had logged out.

There was no one waiting for us outside the medbay doors, which I was thankful for since I didn't want to deal with the questions the others would be asking. I was able to walk on my own two pedes, but Optimus stayed close, just in case. There was no way of knowing if I'd keel over for no reason. With my newfound balance, the trip to my room didn't take that long.

P-"Thank you for sharing your past with me."

O-"It was my pleasure. It was nice being able to talk to someone about it."

P-"Still, thank you. I'm not sure if I would normally share something like that with someone I barely know."

He chuckled. "We'll be spending who-knows-how-long together. We'll be sick of everybody by the time this test is over."

P-"You're probably right about that. I get tired of my brothers after one weekend with them during the academic year. See you Earthside."

O-"See you Earthside."

I watched Optimus turn back towards the offices for a second before I entered my dorm room. It was just as I had left it that morning. Wow, that seemed like a long time ago. So much had happened today. I went over to my desk and onlined one of the many datapads lying there.

 _The Cyber-Ninja Arts By Master Yoketron: For my students when I'm gone._

Wow! I would have never, ever thought that Yoketron would write down his teachings. In Transformers Animated, it seemed as though he would only teach by example and word of mouth. I turned to the first entry.

 _If you are reading this work, then that means that I have joined my brothers and sisters within the Well. For those of you who were my students during my time in this realm, it is my hope that this work helps you finish your training and reacquaints you with my teachings. For those who wished to become my students, welcome. It is my regret that I did not have the honor of meeting you before I left, but I implore you to read this work from start to finish and not to skip steps. You may not understand why at first, but it will make sense in time. May you be blessed and walk the path that Primus has laid down for you alone. 'Til All Are One._

Wow! I lowered the pad for a sec and looked off into space. He wrote this for future students? Wouldn't he have had an heir apparent before his passing? I shook my head out of the clouds. Naw, the game designers just liked making really cool Easter eggs for players to find, that was all.

Although, if I was going to be spending half my time Earthside, this and the crystal-growing pad I found would be great to read during my downtime. Ratchet did mention that he was going to do the same thing with his medical pads.

It took me a few minutes of fiddling with the datapad's menu to find the download to Earthside computer option. I had just pulled out the crystal-growing pad from my subspace when a comlink from Ratchet appeared over my vision screen.

I didn't feel like using the thought-speech method, so I put my hand to my audio receptor. "Prowl, here."

"Why aren't you logged out yet?" His voice sounded like it was wavering on the edge of all-out shouting.

"I decided to wait a little bit before I logged out. I also wanted to download some pads to my computer Earthside…How do you know that I'm still logged in?"

"You answered your comlink, and my shiny little grey chevron is connected to everyone's spark signals."

"Really?" My chevron did nothing like that. I wasn't getting anything from it. "Why's yours…?"

"'Cause you don't need it. Frames that have those audio finials have their signal antennae installed there. The fancier the audio finial or horn, the stronger the signal antenna. For bots like me, we have our signal antennae within our chevrons. It's the strongest type, and since it's on our forehelm, it uses our face as a natural satellite dish. You have your door wings acting like a giant, stronger version of your chevron and face. You only have it for emergency and looks."

"Oh…does that mean that if I turn on my chevron while my door wings are on, I'll be more aware of my surroundings?"

"Don't you dare try. I don't need you sending yourself into another crash. Now, report to Earthside or, so help me, I'm going to come over and wrench you so hard that you won't be waking up 'til Christmas."

With that, he cut off the comlink. I didn't want to have him come over and force me to log off, so I went over to my berth.

It took forever for me to find a comfortable way to lie down. If I wanted to switch sides, I had to sit back up and walk over to the other side of the berth, then lay down all over again.

If I put too much weight on the wing that was closest to the berth, I would start to develop a cramp in that wing's joint. I ended up laying on my right with my pillow supporting the lower wing. My right hand replaced my pillow for my head.

As the logout sequence started, all I could think about was the fact that my left wing was hanging way too much.

* * *

After my visor lifted from my eyes, I was able to put away the oxygen mask and retrieve my glasses. I sat up and found that I wasn't the only one to log out. There were at least ten other people logged out and two others that were waking up from the game sleep. Hannah was still in the game, 'cause her pod was across from mine and it was still closed.

I jumped out and started to make my way over to the medbay. Voices were carrying over from the dining hall, so that must mean that supper was ready and everybody who'd logged out had already finished their medical exams—either that, or they wanted to test Doc Raf's patience and see if he would really use a wrench in real life.

The medbay door opened on my approach, and Logan and Wes came tumbling out. Kaylie was shouting after them.

Kay-"Don't you two dare come back unless you're hurt!"

Logan and Wes were childhood friends. They apparently grew up in the same foster home. Logan was a Russian of Vietnamese descent, and Wes was also Russian but of African descent. Their foster home specialized in kids from Russia for some odd reason. I think Wes said that it was because their foster Dad lived in Russia before moving to the States. These two were inseparable and were quickly becoming known as the class clowns.

Kar- "What did you boys do? I've never heard Kaylie so mad before."

W-"Oh, nothing much, just looking for Prowl."

Logan booped Wes on the head. "She doesn't need to know that."

Ok, "Why would you look for Prowl in there? Isn't he only in the game?"

L-"None of your business. Come on, Wes, before you blab to someone else, Stupid."

W-"I ain't stupid."

I watched Logan drag Wes away before I entered the medbay. Kaylie was reading something off of the computer.

Pointing back over my shoulder, "Should I be concerned about those Terror Twin wannabes? They were just looking for Prowl."

Kaylie whipped around in the office chair and smiled when her eyes landed on me. "No, they were just being too smart for their own good."

Kaylie got up from her chair and led me over to one of the private examination rooms.

"How were they being too smart for their own good?"

"Oh, it's nothing, really. Just that when they found me setting up this room, they thought that I was 'Aid and that I was setting this room up for Prowl's player."

Jumping up into the bed, "But you are First Aid, right? Only First Aid was in the medbay when Ratchet and Optimus brought Prowl."

"Yes, I am 'Aid, but I didn't want to have to deal with those two blabbing it to the world." Kaylie started with a physical exam. "So…you're Prowl. I would never have pegged you as him."

"You won't tell the others?"

"Nope, your secret is safe with me. Besides, everyone will know soon enough. They all know who Doctor Raphael is and, soon, me."

"That's only because Doc Raf didn't even try to hide his personality. Plus, you two are the only two doctors we have on base."

Kaylie giggled. "I'm not a doctor, yet. I was only planning on being a nurse. But with your little adventure today, I think I may have to rethink my plan."

"Speaking of which, do I have to stay here tonight? I don't want to cause a fuss."

"Too late for that."

*groan* "I know. Now I completely understand why he didn't want to mess with Smokescreen's processor during repairs. *shiver* That sure was scary."

"I'll bet. I nearly had a spark-attack when they brought you. Your paint looked bleached."

"You didn't see any oil on my frame?"

"No, why?"

"Well, I was kind of covered in the stuff when they found me. Ratchet must have cleaned me off while the serum was working to bring me out of my shocked state. I didn't even notice." I paused to think back for a second. "Blast, I didn't even hit the wash-racks before logging out. I've probably got splatter all over the non-noticeable places, and it's going to be dried up by tomorrow morning."

Giggling, "It's fine. It probably isn't that big of a deal, if I didn't see anything. Did you find a comfortable position to logout from? I know that you were worried about your wings when Optimus went to put you on the berth. You were soooo cute curled up on your office chair."

"I hope so. It took me at least five minutes to find a comfortable spot, and I still think that I'm going to wake up with a wing cramp."

"Hey, it could be worse. You could be crashed permanently in the game."

Kaylie had finished her exam, so I jumped off the bed. "Yeah, it could be worse. Will you talk to Raf about me not staying over tonight? I'd really like to sleep in my own bed."

Walking out to the main part of the medbay, "I'll see what I can do. I personally think it's okay since we have the suits."

"Thanks. You're the best."

"No problem."

Brandon was waiting for his turn when Kaylie and I walked out. I waved goodbye to both as they made their way back to the private rooms. I guess that Kaylie and Raf wanted everyone to go through the same physical exam today to see how their bodies were doing, since all of us had been basically lying down all day. We were bound to have some sore spots develop no matter how cushioned our pods were.

I had started to make my way to the mess hall when my communicator beeped at me. I pulled it off my belt and turned its screen on. It had a confirmation of my downloads from the game into its version of a Google Drive app. There was also a text from Raf as Ratchet in the game:

 _Karen, you can sleep in your quarters tonight, so long as you are wearing your suit. Kaylie talked me into it. Don't do anything stupid, as we have no idea how your episode will affect you in real life. Make sure you hit the wash-racks first thing when you log in tomorrow. I tried to get everything while waiting for the serum to work. Also, grab a cube of energon—that IV I gave you only made you think that you had a full tank._

 _DON'T DO ANYTHING STUPID TONIGHT, GOT IT?! I'LL WRENCH YOU IF YOU DO!_

I had to laugh at the last line. Oh, Raf, he really couldn't say anything without threatening people with a wrench. Although, he was probably only doing it 'cause he cared—that, and I had probably spooked him really bad in the game today. Heck, I spooked myself really bad.

I put my communicator back on my belt and had started off again when Hannah and David rounded the corner ahead of me.

K- "Hey, guys."

Hannah and David in chorus, "Hi."

H- "Did you finish your checkup already?"

K- "Sure did. Brandon is with Kaylie at the moment. Want me to find us all spots?"

D- "That'll be cool, Karen. We'll let Brandon and Kaylie know that you're saving us seats."

K- "Cool beans. See you guys at dinner."

H- "See ya."

* * *

Brandon took a long swig from his pop before slamming it down on the table. He gave us all a super serious stare, which stopped being so when his mouth betrayed him with a grin.

"OK, guys, this is the most important question of the day." He paused for effect, but David was having none of that.

"Hurry up and tell us, man."

B- "Ok. *sucks in a big breath of air* What did you guys think of the energon?"

I nearly snorted the pop I was currently sipping through my nose and burst out laughing.

Shortly after I had gotten our table, Brandon, David, Kaylie, and Hannah joined me. Josh had decided to sit with another group of buddies tonight, so we had an extra seat for whoever wanted to join us. All we could talk about was our personal highlights of the day, and debating the game. Of all the things Brandon could have brought up, he picked the energon.

B- "What's so funny?"

Kar- "Sorry, it's just that I wasn't expecting it, is all. Of all the things that happened today, you think the energon was the most important?"

B- "Yeah, so? I was dying to find out what it tasted like and was disappointed that it tasted like super watered-down grape juice."

H-"You thought it tasted like grape juice? I thought it was vitamin water."

D- "That stuff is nasty—way worse than Gatorade."

Kay- "Well, I liked it, but that's just me. What about you, Karen?"

Shaking my head, "Are we really debating the pros and cons of energon?"

Everyone- "Yes."

Just then, one of the speakers crackled on.

"Attention, everybody. We would like to celebrate with you, as we have had an amazing first day of testing."

One of the dumbwaiters' lights turned on. Josh got up from his table and opened it.

"It's champagne."

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-Story): Deep Thought pulls up to a mail station. The girls jump off and help him unhitch the cars. Thought transforms and stretches.**

 **D- "So glad to be moving again."**

 **A- "Me, too."**

 **Just then, a mailman runs up to the girls. "Which one of you ladies is Allora?"**

 **Lancer points over to Allora. "Her."**

 **Mailman-"This is for you."**

 **A-"Thanks."**

 **Allora opens the letter and starts jumping up and down with excitement.**

 **D-"What happened now?"**

 **A- "I beat the curve and passed Chemistry. I don't have to take the class again. I'm saved!"**

 **"Congrats." Lancer turns back to the Mailman. He had decided to wait to see Allora's reaction, since the letter was labeled, "Drop everything and read right away."**

 **"When will we get posts from the readers again?"**

 **"It'll be here before the next chapter. Also, I was told that the story traffic graph has been fixed, so you'll know again how many passengers you have on board."**

 **A-"Cool, thanks." *Turns to the readers* "I'm back and will be free to work on this story for awhile, so I'm going to be posting more frequently now—hopefully every two days, at least. Not being able to work on this for over a week was pure torture, so believe me when I say that you guys rock for being awesome readers, and I love writing this story 'cause of you guys' support. Sorry if I call you a mech when you are actually a femme. I default to the "he" pronoun in the Cybertronian sense of the word, genderless. Since the story is currently in the summer months, I mostly likely will not have the gang celebrating Christmas this year. But, that doesn't mean that it won't be creeping its way into the story. Merry Christmas to all. Hugs."**


	11. Ch10 Bottle For Luck

**Author's Note (Mini-Story): "Lancer…. Laaannncccerrr, where are you?"**

 **Deep Thought puts down a hand to impede Allora's progress. "It's been almost a week; I don't think the glitches that took her are nearby."**

 **After stopping at a mail station after the completion of chapter 9, Deep Thought has taken Allora on his scouting mission for chapter 10.**

 **When the duo comes back to the station, they are dismayed to find that the Deceptiglitches have attacked the little mail station. The mailmen are safe but Lancer can't be found.**

 **Over the past week, Deep Thought and Allora have been constantly searching for Lancer as they scout the tracks for more Deceptiglitches .**

 **Thought crouches down to be level with Allora. "I know that this is hard, but we've got passengers waiting for the next bit of the story. We can always double back between chapters to continue the search."**

 **Wiping a tear away, Allora nods her head sadly. "Ok, I just hope Lancer is ok."**

 **D- "Me too."**

* * *

Ch.10 Bottle For Luck

"It's champagne"

Someone called out near the door, "What's the label say?"

Josh turned the tag so he could read it. "Safe voyage. *Looks up to the mess hall* I'll bet we're supposed to christen the VR room with this. Who wants the honors? Optimus Prime, perhaps?"

The room was so silent that a cartoon cricket chirp would have fit in perfectly. It wasn't fair that Josh was basically demanding that OP's player reveal himself. I tried to get my table's attention.

"Pppssssttttttt."

David turned and gave me a funny look. "What?"

Everyone else turned back towards me to see what I had to say.

"How 'bout Doctor Raphael? He isn't exactly hiding who he is in the game, and he did help everyone out today. Why don't we suggest, as a group, that he be the one to christen the VR room?"

H- "That's a great idea. He probably saved Prowl today, too. He deserves this."

D- "Alright, everyone, on three we start chanting Doctor Raf. Ok? 1...2…3!"

Together, while banging the table, "Doctor Raf, Doctor Raf, Doctor Raf, Doctor Raf..."

The other tables started to join in, and even Josh started chanting, too. Raf grouchily got up from where he was sitting with Patrick, Will, Peter, Scott, and John. Patrick seemed like he was egging Raf on, 'cause Raf gave him a glare for a sec before making his way over to where Josh was standing.

Josh passed over the bottle and gave Raf a mock bow. Raf cleared his throat, and the room quieted its cheers.

"Alright, let's head over to the VR room and smash this poor bottle on the door. After that, we can have a party. *Glares at the younger set of players* There is plenty of sparkling juice in here for the underage. I know who you are, and I'll be keeping close tabs on you."

Wes called out, "Party Pooper."

That got a round of snickers from everyone when Raf set his death ray eyes on him.

R-"Come on, let's get this over with."

Everyone made their way over to the VR room. The doors opened upon our approach, so Raf had to manually close them again in order to throw the bottle against them. Just as he was about to throw it, somebody, probably Wes again, started chanting, "Speeech, Speeech, Speeech."

Raf waved his hands to quiet everyone down. "I'm not good at speeches, so let's just get on with the show."

With that, he threw the bottle against the doors. It shattered on the first try. That was a relief, 'cause I was worried that they gave us one of those break-proof bottles you sometimes see at boat launchings. The bottle shattering on the first try was a symbol of what I wanted out of this venture: smooth sailing.

I heard gasps of shock coming from behind me. I turned to find out what was causing the commotion. It was a tiny red-eyed drone that looked like something you would find in the movie Short Circuit, zipping past the feet of everybody in the crowd. I jumped out of the way so it could get to wherever it was speeding to.

It beeped at Raf in what sounded like a scolding tone, then promptly went right to cleaning up the mess.

David whistled. "Well, that explains some things."

I turned to him. "What things?"

D- "Well, we don't have to sweep or nothin' and this place is always spotless. I know that we make a mess whenever we are in the dining hall, but it's always cleaned by the time we use it again."

The drone finished with cleaning up and drove back through the crowd to what looked like a doggie door. The door closed after the drone entered it and nearly disappeared into the wall. You would only see it if you were looking for it.

"You mean that there's an army of those things hiding in the walls?"

I turned to find that it was Ricky who had asked that nervous question. Ricky was a pale kid wearing super-thick glasses. His eyes were gray in color and his hair was black and curly enough to be from a buffalo's back. He was the type of person to spend most of his time indoors and was really easy to spook.

He was worse than my brothers when it came to prank-scaring. For my brothers, all I had to do was lie in wait in order to scare them. Sometimes I did it by accident; just being in the right place at the right time was enough. For poor Ricky, I didn't have to plan ahead. In fact, every time I'd scared him, it had been a complete surprise for me, too.

Since I got here, I hadn't had the time to get to know anyone except Hannah well enough to be willing to prank-scare them. When Ricky joined us, I found that all it took was for him to open his room door while I had just finished leaving my room.

Since our rooms were across from each other, it always looked like I was waiting to pounce on him in the mornings, 'cause my door would close just as his was opening. It didn't matter how many time this happened, he would always jump from fright, then accuse me of being an assassin or something else ridiculous. Then, he'd run off before I could say anything.

I'd lost count of how many times that had happened, so I had started varying the time I left my room in the morning in hopes that I wouldn't accidentally scare him again. I didn't want to give him a heart attack.

Jessica spoke up behind Ricky. "They ain't out to get you, Ricky. Chill, man."

Ricky didn't look relieved, and Jessica gave me a roll of her eyes. Jessica was a super-tall chick of African descent with her hair done up in those super tight scalp braids. She had played for her college's basketball team before the beta test. She was also one of the many people to accidentally scare Ricky by being behind a door when it was opening. She thought it was funny the first time, but got tired after the 20th time.

She ended up hanging with Ricky so she could calm him down. It seemed to be helping, 'cause whenever it looked like Ricky was about to freak out, she would simply place her hand on his shoulder and he would calm down a little bit. It wasn't much, mind you, but it was enough.

Just because she was helping Ricky out didn't mean that she wouldn't still laugh at his extreme explanations or his conspiracy theories about Area 51. Whenever we were in the gym together, we would laugh and debate the newest conspiracy brought up that week.

David -"Yeah, man, chill. Let's head back over to the mess hall."

We made our way back to the mess hall and found that the drones had moved the tables out of the way for a dance floor. There was a DJ station, Karaoke stand, and a drink and snack bar. There were some tables set off to the side for those who liked to sit and chat instead of dancing the night away.

Before anyone could move, Raf grabbed a nearby chair, stationed himself by the drink bar, and gave us a glare. "I know y'all's ages. If you're underage, you're not getting any alcohol."

Wes- "But Raf, it's not like they're going to send down the police to arrest us for drinking underage."

Raf- "Don't matter. It'll be when pigs fly before I let you underage hooligans drink in front of me."

I wasn't sure who it was, but somebody sneaked over to the DJ stand while Raf and Wes were arguing and turned on the music. The first song to come on was Celebration, by Kool & The Gang.

Hannah grabbed my hand. "Let's dance."

* * *

After a few rounds of dancing with my friends, I had to make my escape over to one of the tables. I sat down with a sparkling apple juice and surveyed the party.

Some of the team had left for the night. Raf was hanging out with the older set by the bar. Hannah and Brandon were currently singing a song on the Karaoke machine, but I was too far away to hear it. David, Josh, Logan, and Wes were sitting at another table, telling tall tales of their adventures from before the beta test.

I couldn't see Kaylie, Jessica, or Ricky, so they must have left for bed early. I guessed it was safe enough to pull out my communicator and read for a little bit. It didn't seem like anyone was going to be coming over to where I was anytime soon.

I turned to the crystal-growing book and started reading about the different types of crystals found on Cybertron until somebody smelling of too much booze sat down and leaned over towards me.

"You know what's so funny about this place?"

It was Will. He had arrived with Doctor Raphael and his group, so he was one of the players who had been here the longest. He was a big, fun-loving guy that no one could ever stay mad at for long. With his rosy red cheeks, big bushy brown beard, and blue eyes, he could charm his way out of any argument.

"Nooo…." He was drunk off his socks, and I wasn't sure how to deal with him.

"Well, *hik* let me tell yoooouuuu."

His hand waved like Jack Sparrow. "You know how the ceiling is as high as a house?"

"Yeesss," why the ceiling?

"Well, they're not the right height."

"Excuse me?"

"They're *hik* not the right height. They're too short."

I leaned back and crossed my arms. "How so?" I really wanted to hear his thought process.

"Well," he pointed in the very general direction of the door to the salt mine. "You saw that-there wall from the outside, right? It's at least 50 feet high. *hik* Since there's only one floor on this base, the ceiling inside should be 50 feet in the air, too! Where did all that space go?"

Well, he did bring up a good point. Why was it that there was only one floor on the base when the outer wall suggested plenty of space for at least five floors, or maybe even more if there were sublevels? Perhaps the other floors housed the computers to run the game...

I decided to tease Will with a joke that ran around my high school. I leaned in close. "Maybe that's where they are hiding the pool."

His eyes lit up and he shout-whispered, "We have a pool?"

Before I could stop him, he whipped around and shouted even louder to the rest of the room, "Guys, we have a pool, and it's upstairs."

"Sssshhhhh!" I tried to make him sit down but he was too big for me.

Peter looked over from where he was talking at the bar and sighed upon seeing Will and my "desperately-need-help" look. He turned back to apologize to his friends, then strode over to where I was struggling.

"Will, I think you've had enough fun for tonight. Let's get you back to your room."

Peter didn't look like a physicist, but that's what he assured me he was. He looked too much like a surfer, in my book, to be a physicist. His long, wavy blond hair was currently tied back in a ponytail, and his sea-green eyes were set in something between amusement and exasperation.

Peter had gone to the same college as Will, often finding that their majors required the same classes. After college, Peter had gone on to develop his theories, whereas Will went on to be a company chemist. Peter had once told me that Will liked to cobble together inventions, but they hardly ever worked.

If anyone could deal with a drunk Will, it was Peter. He would have had to drag Will back to his dorm after frat parties, after all.

Will shook his head. "No*hik*pe I'm fine."

"No, I think not." Peter slung Will's arm over his shoulders and helped him to his feet. "Sorry if he was a bother. He tends to forget his limits when it comes to beer."

Waving it off, "It's fine. You just make sure he gets back to his room safely."

After they stumbled out of the room, I looked around to see who was still left. Hannah had joined Josh's table, and everyone else had left for bed. The drones were out and cleaning up for tomorrow's breakfast. Their red eyes were blazing in the dim lighting.

I figured it was time to head off for bed myself since I had to be up in time for the morning shift in the game. I was passing by Josh's table when he waved me over.

"You want to join us? We need another player." He was shuffling a deck of cards.

I leaned over Hannah's shoulder. "What game are you playing?"

Wes turned back to me while waiting for Josh to deal the cards. "Poker."

K- "Really? You too, Hannah?"

H-"Yep, I've played it a couple times while on survey. Come on and join us."

Shaking my head, "Sorry, don't know how to play."

David shot me a cheeky grin. "I'd be willing to teach ya."

K- "What are you guys even betting? It's not like you have that many places to spend money right now."

Josh was still dealing out the cards. "Oh, nothing much. Just hints about your character in the game."

What? Were they playing for character hints? Why would they even…oh, wait just one minute. The Game. That darn bet that was set up to reveal who was who. Josh probably arranged the whole thing and was now trying to gain more info by getting players to spill the beans. Well, sorry, pal, I wasn't falling for it.

"Sorry, I'm going to have to pass." I turned and started to make my way out the door. "You guys have fun, okay?"

"What are you? Chicken?"

I turned slowly on my heels. It was Logan. He had looked up from his cards to give me a piercing scowl.

K- "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

L- "I said, 'Are you chicken?' You afraid that you'll lose and we'll find out who you really are?"

Actually, I was afraid of that. I was afraid that if everyone found out who I was in the game they would hate me in real life. I was afraid that they would start judging me for my character's actions instead of my own in the real world, and that I would be shunned despite being assigned a character that was nothing like me. But, I didn't want them to know that.

I stomped back over to the table and sat down roughly. "Deal me in. I'll play this dumb game."

David leaned over to me. "Glad you decided to join us."

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-Story): Deep Thought pulls to a stop near a tiny town. Allora quickly unhitches him so he can stretch.**

 **A police officer walks over to them. "Are you Allora and Deep Thought?"**

 **D- "Yes, officer."**

 **P- "I've just gotten off the phone with a town farther along the tracks. They said that Lancer is safe."**

 **A- "She is?"**

 **P- "Yep, apparently she was able to get away from the Deceptiglitches and is waiting for you guys farther up the tracks."**


	12. Ch11 Pokernaut

**Author's Note(Mini-Story): Deep Thought is currently helping Allora load one of the supply cars.**

 **A- "How far is the town Lancer is staying at again?"**

 **D- "Not sure. Depending on what track the story takes, it could be many chapters before we reunite with Lancer."**

 **A- "I wish she was here with us right now."**

 **D- "Me too, but she is safe and we'll see her when we get there."**

 **A- "As long there are no glitches."**

 **D- "As long there are no glitches again, yes. I looked at the reviews and everyone is glad that we are back and safe. Some of them have placed bets on how Prowl/Karen is going to do in this chapter."**

 **Allora giggles, "And what's the verdict?"**

 **D- "That it would be just like Prowl to win a poker match.**

 **A- "We'll just have to see.*Looks at readers* Sorry in advance if I didn't describe poker correctly. *Turns back to Thought* You ready to go?"**

 **D- "Sure thing."**

 **They quickly get hooked up and begin chugging down the tracks.**

* * *

Ch. 11 Pokernaut

I leaned over to David, "OK tell me again, how do I tell if I should fold?"

While Josh was reshuffling the deck, David gave a quick lesson on how to play poker Texas Hold'em style. It seemed simple at first but, right after he'd finished listing the types of hands, I completely forgot what he said. Something about Aces being the highest was all I could recall. But that didn't make sense to me since Ace was always considered the lowest when my family played Kings in the Corner.

David leaned back to whisper to me, "You can't fold in this version of poker. Just remember, use the two cards you got plus the community cards to build yourself the best hand. And pray for good luck."

Great, I had no idea what I was doing and then he tells me I can't bow out. Great just great. I really hope that I don't lose.

I currently had a 2 of spades and a 2 of clubs. On the table, the cards were 5 of hearts, 10 of clubs, and 6 of diamonds. If I wanted to get higher than a pair, which was the lowest, I had to get a few more twos on the table or a 3, and a 4. Another 2 would make my pair into three of a kind, and so on. With a 3 and 4 on the table, my hand, I believed, would be a straight 'cause there was already a 5, and a 6 on the table and, in order make a hand, the max amount of cards that I could hold was five cards.

Josh reached over to the deck and flipped over the top card. Drat, it was an 8 of diamonds. I thought to myself, "Please let the next one be a two of some kind." Since we weren't actually betting any material things, Josh only paused in suspense before flipping over the last community card.

Nooooo, it was a 9 of spades. I was absolutely stuck with a pair of twos. Unless someone had no hand what so ever, I was going to have to give a character hint. Why didn't I walk away when I had the chance again? Oh yeah,' cause that is what Prowl would have done, not Karen.

J-"Alright everyone show your best hand."

Josh's face grew into a canary-eating grin at the moment, and I had the distinct feeling that he got the results he wanted.

Hannah had a pair of 8's and a pair of 5's, Wes a pair of 10's, Logan another pair of 8, and David a pair of 6's. My hand looked so small compared to theirs, but that was until Josh revealed his hand. It was a straight. He had 7, so along with the community cards on the table he had made the highest hand of the round.

H-"Tough luck Karen."

*Sigh* "The loser has to give a character hint, right?"

Josh crossed his arms with a smug expression, the kind that I would love to punch off his face, "Yep."

"Any kind of hint?" I had a hint alright for them but it would only work if they said yes to this question.

David got a mischievous twinkle in his eye, almost as if he knew that I was up to something and wanted in on the action, "Yep Karry, any hint."

I was too stressed out by the situation to notice that David had "cutified" my name. Then everyone leaned in, eager to hear the juicy piece of information that I was going to be handing them. I didn't like the looks on the Russians' faces, and Josh's was no better. They all looked like they would torment me in the game first chance they got. David seemed to be on my side if only to cause mayhem to Josh's plan. Hannah had a polite curiousness on her face, probably 'cause she wanted to know who I was since I knew who she was in the game.

Breathing in, "He has blue optics."

There was a silence for at least 5 seconds before David threw his head back in a bellowing laugh. Hannah sat down and smiled ruefully, as if to say, 'I see what you did there.' The Russians shared a look somewhere between amused and dismayed.

Josh seemed to spatter for a second, "You can't do that."

Hannah came to my defense, "Yes she can. It's not like you said how helpful they needed to be. Just that they help describe the character."

D- "Yep, and don't go changing the rules just 'cause you didn't get what you wanted from Karry. You placed a bet and lost. Get over it."

Josh gathered up the cards, "Another round. You in Karrryyyy?"

K- "My parents gave me a perfectly fine name Josshhhhyyyyy. Please use it correctly. And, sure, why not? My luck can't be _that_ bad, right?"

That got some giggles from Hannah. Logan snorted, and Wes covered his mouth to hide his grin. I missed David's expression 'cause Josh started dealing out the cards again.

This time, I had a 10 of diamonds and a 3 of clubs. The first three community cards were a 7 of hearts, Jack of spades, and a 4 of clubs. Josh decided to make the round interesting by turning the last two cards way too slow. They were Queen of spades and a King of Spades.

Hannah ended up with a pair of 7's. David a straight with a hand of a 9 and 10 along with the cards on the table. Both the Russian boys got a pair each. Josh made me think that he was stacking the deck.

W- "No way! How'd you get a royal flush?"

J- "Just lucky."

I didn't believe him for a second. He had an Ace of spades and a 10 of Spades in his hand and, along with the spades on the table, he managed to make one of the hardest hands in the game. I didn't have one measly pair for crying out loud. How in the world did that happen, unless Josh was stacking the deck? He was the dealer after all.

Crossing my arms, "I don't believe it."

H- "Come on Karen, don't pout. It's just bad luck that's all. Come on give us a hint."

Josh had that smug smirk again, almost saying, 'Try to find your way out of this one.'

"Alright, here's a good one. He has red on his frame," I wasn't lying about that one, it was the truth. He did have red, I just didn't state how much red was on his frame.

Wes lit up, "Well that narrows down who you can be."

Raising my right eyebrow, "How so? Everybody has red on them."

L- "No they don't. Bots like Hound and Bumblebee don't have red in their paint scheme."

"Actually," Hannah said, rubbing her chin in thought, probably reflecting on our plane ride over here together, "All of the team had red in their paint scheme 'cause everybody has the Autobrand, and that's always red."

David was nodding his head sagely. He probably had the same line of thought going through his brain as Hannah at that moment. Logan and Wes shared a look of revelation at Hannah's comment. It was really funny, and I couldn't believe that Hannah remembered our conversation about the Autobot Insignia.

Josh slammed his fist onto the table, "Stop doing that!"

Giving him a pitying look, "Doing what? You're the one who wanted character hints. You never did specify how specific they needed to be, so I don't see the problem. You probably only set up this game so you could get one up on the competition. If I didn't know better, I would say that you're stacking the deck against me at the moment and you probably set up that stupid bet to figure out who everyone is in the game." I leaned back in the seat. "Prove me wrong."

David started to laugh, "She's got you, Josh and Wes. Karen tore apart your little scheme like that *Snapping his fingers* So much for the world renowned online gambler and Russian trickster."

Gambler? I took a hard look at Josh. Josh was currently melting into his seat along with Wes due to being caught. Josh was always going on about his hair-brained schemes and how he was going to rule the world. Most them required some form of a gamble in order to work. Weren't politics basically one huge gamble? He was good at reading people and figuring out how to get them to do what he wanted them to do.

Josh was definitely Smokescreen material if I ever saw one person on this Earth who could be him. Now what to do with new information? Should I reveal this to everyone at the table? Or should I save it for a rainy day? I could always use it as blackmail if he were ever to threaten me, but that would only work as long as most people were still grasping at straws on who is who.

Abruptly I stood up, "Well guys it has been fun, but I'm sad to say that I need to hit the hay. It's going to be a long day tomorrow and I don't want to miss any of it."

Hannah got up along with David and Logan.

H- "That sounds like a good idea. I have an early start myself."

D- "Catch ya later, guys. Good night ladies."

Logan didn't say a word, but simply nodded his head. He left his friend Wes to help Josh clean up before the drones could steal the deck away from them.

I left the mess hall, making my way over to the dorm rooms. I had to dodge the occasional drone zipping along to its assigned task for the night. With the lights down to stimulate our brains into thinking it was night time, it was kind of creepy to come upon the red-eyed helpers. It reminded me too much of Terminator, even though the drones were more of a stretched-out version of Wall-e.

I reached my room and entered the new code, Angelwings into the door. Thankfully the drones' domain seemed to be only public places. I would have to keep my own room clean if I wanted it that way. No little-eyed bots were going to be coming in anytime soon.

* * *

"Mayor Bubblegum, what happened to our order for those newfangled cat umbrellas? We are in desperate need of them. They are the only thing to ward off the raining Dogs."

Turning to Mrs. Shirley Rabbit and throwing papers into the air, "You want to try ordering them? The cat wranglers are out of catnip again and the umbrella can't work without it. The mint forest isn't producing anything but icky wintergreen, and everyone has gotten the purple people eater pox again. Mr. Tim Tost has lost his flugelhorn, and poor Timmy fell down the well again."

Bubble Sage appeared, "The only way to save the town is by you walking over the swamp of the Forever Stank to retrieve the Lost Dragon's Tear. It is the only way to bring back the Lucky Jackalope herds."

Walking across a tightrope suspended over a swamp that had green colored stank mist coming up, the island of the Jiggle Fluff Beast was at the other end of the rope. Suddenly there was a twang of a bow string.

I was sitting up playing my cello, then falling off the string towards the swamp as it morphed into a raging sea of mercury. *Splash* I rose to the top and found myself on a metallic beach. Two giants were fighting in the distance. One was giving off the feeling of light and the other darkness.

I started to run toward the giants. I needed to help the light one. The distance seemed to only grow as I ran. The dark one punched the light one in the face. Light fell to his knees. He needed help.

I reached out to him. "Let me help you!"

Beepbeepdeep! Beepbeepdeeep!Beepbeepdeep! Beepbeepdeeep!Beepbeepdeep! Beepbeepdeeep!

*Groan* Morning already? Can't I have 10 more minutes? I reached over to press the snooze button on my phone and curled back up into my super-warm covers. The dream was getting really interesting. I think I was dreaming about the beginning of Cybertron.

I let myself waver between the realm of sleep and awake - "the snooze state," as I liked to call it. In this state, I was able to recall my dreams better and had some control over where they would go.

I was back on Cybertron. Primus had fallen to his knees. Unicron reared back his clawed hand to strike Primus in the chest plates. At the last second, a pillar of light erupted around Primus, stopping Unicron's attack in its tracks.

Unicron blocked the light from his face plates and retreated as thirteen figures emerged around Primus in the light. The light ended as soon as Unicron disappeared from the scene.

Primus reached down to caress his new creations, "My children. You are my gifts. Come, there is much to teach you before the next battle."

Suddenly I was standing next to Primus and the newly created Primes. Primus rose and turned to lead his disciples to a safe place to train in peace. They walked past me. Prima, Megatronus (before he was known as The Fallen) Alpha Trion, Vector Prime, Nexus Prime, Liege Maximo, Alchemist Prime, Amalgamous Prime, Quintus Prime, Thirteen, Solus Prime, Micronus Prime, and finally Onyx Prime.

Onyx Prime paused as he neared me and turned to face me. His bestial form alien compared to his brothers and sister. He opened his mouth.

Beepbeepdeep! Beepbeepdeeep!Beepbeepdeep! Beepbeepdeeep!Beepbeepdeep! Beepbeepdeeep!

Come on! It was just getting good! I glanced at the time displayed on the alarm and groaned again. It was 7:10 A.M. in the morning. If I wanted to make it in time to have breakfast before my game shift today, I had to get up now.

I rolled off of my warm bed and stumbled over to my bathroom. With bleary eyes, I took a relaxing shower to wake myself up. I brushed my teeth, then brushed my hair and braided it again. I put on my clean suit and put the one from last night into its clean closest.

I grabbed my glasses and communicator from my nightstand and headed out the door. I ignored Ricky's shout of alarm - he should be used to it by now, right? And I continued along my way.

What was Onyx going to say to me? It must have been something important, right? Naw, based on the early part of the dream, it was probably something along the lines of, "you forgot the Dragon's Tear," or some other such nonsense.

Whatever it was, it would have to wait till way later. The sound and smell of breakfast was calling to me at the moment, and my stomach was egging me on.

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-Story): Deep Thought pulls to a stop in front of a mail station. Allora gets out wearing a New Year's hat.**

 **A- "Happy New Year's Eve."**

 **She unhitches Thought so that he can wave at the readers.**

 **D- "Yeah, Happy New Year's Eve. By the time we get more mail from you folks it will be 2016."**

 **A- "I can hardly believe that it's going to be 2016. So much has happened this year."**

 **D- "What's been your favorite bit?"**

 **A- "I can't choose just one thing, but I do have to say that writing this story, hearing from readers, and meeting Lancer have been huge highlights for me. I love everyone who reads and enjoys this story. I never ever thought I would get over 50 readers within one month of publishing. It feels like such a huge number."**

 **D- "Sure does, and it's great that not only the readers love it, but that you, too, love it, Allora."**

 **A- "Yep, this has been a blessing for me, you, and our readers too, I hope."**

 **Together- "Happy New Year's Eve. See you next year."**


	13. Ch12 Early Morning Shenanigans

**Author's Note (Mini-Story): Allora comes out from her tent and stretches, "Happy New Year, Folks! Just to let you guys know, I got an email stating that you left a review but it's not showing up on. I've read them all and love your feedback. For Jazzilynn, you got me before the new year. For Secret, Wow! Happy Happy New year for you, but homework? Let's not think on that evil subject. For those who applauded Karen's work during the poker match, yes I thought that it was clever of Karen, too. She does need to keep her name preference on the down-low though. For those who wrote about the dream, it's not that weird of a dream. I've had dreams like that in the past. In fact, one lead me to write this fanfiction. For SomebodyI'mSure, I can't confirm or deny anything. Karen will tell you who is who based on her thought process."**

 **TOOT!**

 **A- "Oh Thought is saying to get a move on for this story, so here is the next chapter."**

* * *

Ch.12 Early Morning Shenanigans

Breakfast was in full swing by the time I arrived there. A few people were missing, but this was to be expected after the party last night and my scheduling grave shifts for that evening. Hannah, Brandon, and David were sitting at our usual table.

I guess that Josh didn't want to face me this morning since he was hiding with the Russians. Will must also be sleeping off his hangover - I can't see him anywhere. I went through the serving line quick before heading over to my table.

Putting my plate onto the table, "Morning!"

David and Brandon were too engrossed by their meals to reply back.

Hannah finished her sip, "Morning Karen. You sleep well last night?"

K- " Sure did. Is Kaylie not joining us this morning?"

B- "She told me last night that she had to up super early to cover for Raf. I think she already had breakfast and is currently Gameside."

Why would she have to cover for Raf unless? Oh, Raf was currently holding his head with his left hand while trying to spoon food into his uncooperating mouth. Peter and another guy, I believe his name was Patrick, were sitting with him. They probably wanted to make sure that their friend didn't fall into his food.

Odd, I didn't think Raf had that much to drink last night. He was keeping watch over the underaged the whole time. Either he's a lightweight or there has been foul play committed against our benevolent doctor.

K- "Well, I hope that Doc Raf will be well enough to take over so that Kaylie can get her Earthside break."

David pointed his fork at me, "You worry too much about others. If I was you I'd be more worried about myself."

K- "Do I have reason to be?"

D- "I'll give you three: Josh, Wes, and Logan."

B- "What did she do to get on their bad side?"

D- "Oh nothing much. Just outsmarted Josh and Wes at poker last night."

Brandon's eyes lit up with glee, almost bouncing in his seat, "You mean that she beat those cheaters last night?"

Giving David a hard look, "I wouldn't say that. I lost every round."

H- "Yeah, but you figured out how to get out of telling them what they really wanted to know."

B- "So wait, it was one of 'those' games?"

Turning in shocked surprise, "You mean this wasn't the first time Josh and Wes pulled this kind of stunt?"

B- "You kidding? I've been roped into I-don't-know-how-many of those games. I always leap before I look so I almost always end up in one of Josh's character games. I've been lucky enough so far to not have the losing hand, but I bet that will change soon if I keep coming."

D- "Well you should have seen Karen play last night. She was on fire! Each time she lost, she found the least helpful hint ever to give us and then she called Josh out on stacking the deck and setting up the betting pool on people's characters. It was hilarious watching Josh and Wes squirm."

Brandon turned to give the "you are my hero" look, "You're awesome. How'd you know that Josh was stacking the deck?"

K- "I didn't. I just didn't like the fact that he just happened to have a royal flush whereas I had no playable hand."

B- "Wow! That must have been something to see."

Shrugging my shoulders, "I wouldn't know. I was way too stressed out by the whole thing."

By now I had finished my pancakes and was getting ready to start on my scrambled eggs. I reached for the salt.

K- "If you're ever stuck in another one of Josh's stupid games, try using the "my character's optics are blue," or "they have red on their frame" till it's safe to...What in the World?!"

The salt shaker had spilled its entire contents across the table and on all of my eggs. I only noticed the salt trail left behind after it was too late. I kept looking between my plate, where I had picked up the salt shaker, and the shaker still in my hand. I think my jaw was doing its Bat Cave entrance routine again.

Hannah giggled, "You going to be OK?"

I deflated and tipped the shaker over so I could see its bottom. The plastic was a broken mess, giant pieces missing. I glanced back to the start of the salt trail and picked up the biggest piece. The shifting salt revealed a tiny gleaming piece of copper. I reached back for it finding it to be a penny.

Placing the penny and the broken piece into the now empty shaker and placed the whole thing on the table. Grabbing my plate with my right hand, I lowered it so it was hovering underneath the table's edge. With my left hand forming a crescent moon shape, I started to sweep the salt onto my plate.

D- "What you doing, Karen? The drones can take care of that."

K- "I need to get another plate of eggs anyway. *Sigh* Might as well take care of this since I'm heading over to the disposal area. Did Wes stop for a chat and salt before I sat down?"

B- "Yes, do you think it was him?"

K- "I'll see in a minute."

I picked up the salt shaker and, along with my plate, headed over to Wes' table. Josh and Wes were trying to hide snickers while Logan just put on an air of boredness.

Setting my salt shaker on the table, I paused for a little bit, "Classy, guys."

With that, I grabbed their full salt shaker for my table and headed off. I heard a distinct thump of a kick against a leg.

W- "Oww! What was that for."

L- "You got caught, stupid. You too, Josh."

I couldn't keep the grin off as I made my way back to my table along with my fresh plate of eggs.

H- "I can't believe you did that."

B- "Boy I wish I was a fly on that table when you dropped that shaker on them."

D- "You're full of surprises, aren't you, Karen."

With my mouth full of eggs, all I could do was shrug my shoulders until I was able to swallow. "I'm not sure about that, but every once in awhile I can come up with something."

H- "You off this afternoon, Karen?"

K- "Sure am. You working in the greenhouse?"

H- "Yeah, I'd like to try to get the fish in by next week."

K- "But it will take at least 2 weeks to finish the aquaponics station. We'll need another set of hands to get it done in time for the fish."

"You need another set of hands to help you out in the greenhouse?"

I turned to face the back of my seat and looked up. His name tag read, "Kyle." He had dishwater blond hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a necklace that looked like it was made of whalebone. He had been on his way to take care of his tray when he stopped.

K- "You offering?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "I'm good with my hands, and it's not like I have anything better to do today."

H- "We'd be happy to have you. You free, after lunch?"

Ky- "Sure, meet in the greenhouse?"

H- "Yep we'll see you then."

* * *

I decided after waking in the dream state to online quickly that morning since no one was currently with me to watch what time it was when I woke up. Of course, the pain from my left door wing caused me to sit up way too quickly.

Yep that wing was sore, I'll have to find some more pillows or a thick blanket or something to help support both wings. Now to get a shower to get rid of the oil that was still clinging to my protoform between my armor plates.

Going over to the closet, I found my acid rifle, a few magazines of acid pellets, and several towels. My wings were telling me that the towels were made with over a zillion strands of nanofibers and that these fibers had a tensile strength that was 10 times stronger than spider's silk. Cool, I'd have to ask Preceptor about the material sometime. If we could make this stuff Earthside, it would be a game changer. Think of all we could do with this stuff. Flexible building? Fool-proof parachutes? The possibilities were limitless.

I grabbed one of the towels for after my wash. It was sooooooooooo soft that I felt like I could melt right into it. Why didn't I use one of these last night?

I placed the towel on the little shelf outside of the drying fans in front of the wash racks. The shower itself was inside a transparent room with a closable door. The fans were positioned to face towards the door to help dry me off like in a drive-through car wash. The towel was to get the last drops of condensation that always seemed to cling no matter how long one stood in the fans' air stream.

Inside the shower, there were three different handles. Thank goodness they were labeled or I'd have been stuck in there all day trying to figure out how the thing worked. One handle was for the amount of solvent you wanted, another was for water temperature, and the third was for heated oil. I guess that sometimes it was good to have oil on your frame.

The shelf opposite the door had a long plastic rod and a bath scrubby of some sort. There was no wax jar, but it made sense that the wax would be outside the shower, you didn't want that stuff getting wet.

Water first before adding the solvent, I decided. Hot hot hot. Doing the too-hot/too-cold shower dance, I tried to adjust the temperature while keeping my wings out of range. Just right, the water was now at a comfortable temperature of around 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Just 5 degrees higher than I would normally do Earthside.

I started to relax as the water worked its way under my armor to my protoform. It tickled the joints in my hands and my wings as well. But the longer I stood underneath the warm rain, the more I found my wings slowly relaxing from their upright position. They were now in the beetle like position that allowed them to be folded neatly over my back, the right one overlapping the left.

Wow, the struts holding my wings didn't hurt in this position and the sensitivity reading from my wings was 50 percent sensory output instead of 70 percent now. I don't remember lowering that. Maybe this position is like the beetle's shell over its wings - protective and natural. So, in order to be comfortable, my wings have to be less sensitive.

Hmmmm, might not be a great idea to use this position in battle since it makes me half blind, but could possibly work for logging out. I'll have to try it tonight.

I turned on the solvent, and the shower was now a mix of water and the Cybertronian soap. I grabbed the bath scrubby, which was more of a silicone pad with tiny nano-cones that formed bristles, and started scrubbing away the dried oil.

After getting my front, I found that the plastic rod could hold the bath scrubby. With it, I could get all of my wings in the beetle position while lifting them back into the normal butterfly position allowed me to get my back. I had to scrub harder than normal 'cause the scrubby would tickle my wings if applied too lightly. Even with the reduced sensitivity, I could still make myself drop to the floor in a fit of giggles from that scrubby.

Turning off the shower and drying off, I hung up my towel to dry and grabbed my rifle. Swinging it onto my back, it slipped into subspace. With the ammo cartridges, I motioned putting them into pockets and they slipped into subspace as well. Very handy.

Grabbing my datapads from my desk, I left my room and locked it with a new passcode. With that done, I made my way over to the mess hall.

Hmmm HmHmHmmm Hmmm HmHmHmmm Hmm HmHmHmmm HmmmHmmmHmmm

Dangit! How'd I get that song stuck in my head? It's the middle of summer!

The mess hall was quiet this morning, primarily because most of the players were still Earthside. Firstaid was getting a cube of energon to take back to medbay. He sent a text.

 _Karen, should I call you Prowl in the game? So confusing. Anyway, stop by the medbay after your cube. Doc Raf/ Ratchet wants a follow-up scan of your processor. Kaylie/Firstaid._

I guess I'm not the only one confused about what to call people in the game.

Heading over to the energon station, I looked over the supplements while my cube was filling with the slightly purple liquid. The station was set up not unlike a coffee table at a breakfast bar. The cube was filled from an energon tank. It could then be placed on a heating pad to heat the liquid. There was a variety of different colored powders and chemicals to add to the drink.

I didn't mess with the energon the first time 'cause I was curious about the flavor. Now I wanted to try some Iron(III) oxide in some heated energon since the rust stick from yesterday was covered in the stuff. Adding a few spoonfuls, the energon started to give off the smell of hot chocolate.

Looking over the other powders, I saw one that was labeled Patina. It was green in color like the Statue of Liberty. Leaning over slightly, I caught a whiff of mint coming from that powder. In a burst of inspiration, I added that to my drink along with the Iron(III) oxide.

After the heating pad beeped at me, I gently grabbed the cube, blew a small puff of air over it and took a tentative sip. Magnifico, it was pure heaven in a cup - _so_ way better than coffee Earthside!

I sat down at a corner table and onlined my crystal growing pad. Bots started to filter in for their morning energon. Every once in awhile I would receive a polite "hello" and "how are you doing." I always said good morning and that I was doing fine.

Jazz joined me after a short "hello" with his own flavored cube, since it was discolored slightly. It smelled like strong black coffee.

Shouts of alarm could be heard coming from the hallway. Both Jazz and I looked up to see what the commotion was about. A small yellow body came racing into the mess hall, ricocheting off tables, chairs and startled bots' legs, coming to a stop in one of the corners.

It was Steeljaw.

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-Story): Deep Thought pulls up to a tiny cabin sitting next to the tracks. Allora jumps out with a backpack for the night. She unhitches Deep Thought.**

 **A- "You sure that this is a safe spot for the night?"**

 **D- "It seems like a good idea since seems to have Deceptiglitches popping up again. The Police Officer in the last town said that there were cabins hiding along the tracks as safe houses from the Deceptiglitches."**

 **A- "OK, what did you think of that humming bit of the story today?"**

 **D- "I liked it, I wonder if any of the readers will be able to figure it out."**

 **A- "Well it is a Christmas song, so hopefully they can figure it out. If not, I'll tell them next chapter."**


	14. Ch13 Jaw Blaster

**Author's Note (Mini-Story): Deep thought walks over to the tiny cabin and taps the roof.**

 **D- "Allora, you up?"**

 **A- "I'll be out in a sec."**

 **D- "Can I reply to the review while waiting?"**

 **A- "Yes!"**

 **Deepthought turns to the readers, "Hey guys, fanfiction is still being plagued by Deceptiglitches, so the reviews aren't showing up on the page. Thankfully, email still works for the reviews. Hi Giddy, yep I laughed at the same stuff too. Sorry about the song. It was Oh Christmas Tree. Allora had that one stuck in her brain until I told her to write it down. It kind of worked until another song tried to take over. *Sigh* I've got to beat the music rampaging in Allora's brain somehow. Any good tips?"**

 **Allora comes out of the cabin with her gear, "You telling tales about my music issue?"**

 **D- "Yes, I'm tired of hearing the Pizza Angel song."**

 **Allora pats his ped, "Sorry bud. Want to hit the tracks?"**

 **D- "Yes, anything to keep that song down."**

* * *

Ch.13 Jaw Blaster

It was Steeljaw, Blaster's winged lion cassetticon - the oldest of his symbiotes if the headcanons of Transformers fanfiction writers were to be believed.

They were ogling and fawning over him as they formed a small crowd in front of the poor bot, making him more agitated with each second of being boxed in. Couldn't they see Steeljaw lowering into a crouch like a cat, getting ready to lash out at his so-called allies?

Jazz was trying to get the crowd to leave poor Steeljaw alone. But going one bot at a time wasn't fixing the situation, and Steel was going to explode at the rate that Jazz was going.

P- "Everybody Stop!"

Everyone turned to stared at me, dumbfounded. Steel had a look of pure terror in his optics, almost pleading for help in their intensity.

"Leave Steeljaw alone. He is not a pet to be fawned over." Crouching down so my optics were level with his, "Come over here Steeljaw, it's alright."

The bots surrounding Steeljaw parted ways to allow him to make his way over to me. He didn't move a single paw until I gave a small shake of my helm letting him know it was alright. He was over in a flash, sitting meekly with his helm down.

"You're not in trouble Steeljaw *Glancing up at the crowd* There is nothing to see here. Disperse."

Reluctantly, the crowd went back to their morning energon. Jazz hesitated before returning to his seat at our table. My doorwings informed me that Jazz was currently trying to bore holes into my helm, concerned about Steeljaw, no doubt and wondering how I would handle the situation.

"Steeljaw, are you alright?"

Looking up, he quickly nodded his helm.

"Would you like to join me for a cube of energon?"

Another head nod.

Gesturing toward one of the chairs at my table, I went over to the energon station to get Steel a cube. Finding cubes that were modified so they had wider bases and were shorter in height, I whipped up another hot chocolate mint drink.

I came back to find Steel sitting between Jazz and my current spot. Jazz was trying to hide his stare behind his datapad and Steel was avoiding optic contact with everyone. I placed the fresh cube in front of Steeljaw and sat down again.

Steel gave me an incredulous look after taking a sniff of the drink. I simply inclined my head again then returned to my own cube and datapad. The sound of tiny claws tapping the table could barely be heard before a tiny sip resounded in my audios. Then with a vengeance, louder slurps could be heard.

I looked to see Steeljaw with his front paws on the tabletop and his snout in a the drink. He must have liked the drink 'cause he was attacking it like a man who'd just come in from a 30-day trek through a desert. I don't think he would normally allow himself to make that much noise. Odd, he wasn't using his glossa to spoon in the drink like Earth quadrupeds. He seemed to share the ability to suck in fluid, like us. Interesting, I wonder if it's 'cause he has a special intake pump to make the process easier.

"Steeljaw!"

I turned to find Blaster stopped in the archway to the mess hall. Relief washing over the stereo's face plates. He made as if he were going to smother Steel in affection just as the lion tensed next to me. Reacting quickly, I thought-commed Blaster.

Blaster, hold it. Steeljaw is stressed from the commotion earlier. Slow down. Grab a cube of energon and approach slowly. I don't know why Steeljaw is upset so let's try not making it worse.

Blaster paused and seemed to take a deep breath before changing direction. He made himself a cube before heading back over to our table.

B- "Mind if I join you?"

J- "Sure thing, mech."

Blaster sat down roughly across from Steeljaw. An uncomfortable silence fell over the table as Steeljaw turned down his slurping, and Blaster just stared into his cube. Jazz was leaning his helm on his hand with a smile hiding his unease about the whole situation.

Well everyone was too embarrassed to get the conversation going, so it might as well be me.

Putting down my datapad, "Blaster, Steeljaw, is everything alright?"

Blaster started then quickly averted his gaze, "No."

Steel just shook his helm.

Jazz chuckled, "Well, we know that something is wrong. You two want to tell us what's up?"

B- "I'm not even sure what happened. "

Steel nodded to this statement.

J- "Well that's helpful. *turns helm to me* What'd you think, Prowler?"

P- "It's Prowl. *turns to Blaster* Does the issue involve your symbiotic bond with Steeljaw?"

Blaster and Steeljaw were comical as they stared at me, then switched to staring at each other, then back over to me again.

B- "How'd you know?"

P- "The crash landing has caused several issues for the crew internally. It's logical that it would have caused an issue with this as well."

Blaster blinked, "Oh." I guess he didn't think that I would refer to the game's reference to why things were unknown.

P- "After we are done with our cubes, I would recommend that both you and Steeljaw accompany me to the medbay. I believe that Ratchet and Firstaid would have a file on symbiotic relationships."

Steeljaw nodded his head and returned to his drink, the tension draining away from his frame. I guess little Steel trusts me, but I wonder why he is nervous around Blaster and not me. That doesn't seem right. If anything, it should be the other way around.

B- "Oh…That's very kind of you of Prowl, Thanks."

P- "I am going to see Firstaid this morning. It would be the best use of our time if we were to go together." That, and I would also like to keep an eye on Steeljaw. The way he is acting is making me really nervous. Are the other cassetticons acting this way?

Jazz threw back his helm to finish off his cube. "Well mechs, it's been fun but I got to run. Training session today and all that jazz. *snicker* See you, Prowler."

P- "It's Prowl."

Jazz merely grinned and sauntered out of the dining hall. Others were finishing their Gameside breakfasts and heading out to goof off.

I returned to my datapad when Blaster, not having anything better to do, started the conversation again.

B- "Sooo… You're feeling better today Prowl?"

P- "Yes. I am glad to say that the event did not cause adverse effects. However, Ratchet wants to do another examination to make sure that there is no relapse ."

Blaster blinked, "Oh, That's great. Um… What was it like?"

P- "The Auto Battle App?"

B- "Is that you're calling it? Good name. So what was it like? Ratchet didn't say what was wrong with it."

Bringing up my door wings' feed, I found that the few bots that were still in the room were leaning ever so slightly closer to overhear my experience with that messed-up app.

They wanted to hear how scared I was - how alien it was to see my body move on its own into a series of moves reminiscent of Jackie Chan. Nope, wasn't ready to share that experience with the world.

P- "Blaster, that is an experience I would recommend that no one should repeat."

With that, I ended it by standing up. Steeljaw got up at the same time, so I grabbed his now empty cube and headed over to the cube recycling bin. Blaster quickly threw back the rest of his energon in order to catch up with us.

I really couldn't blame the mech for his curiosity on the matter. He was the communications officer for the Autobots after all. He probably thrived on gossip just as much as doting on his cassetticons.

Blaster didn't bring up the subject again during our walk over to the med bay. He probably figured that I wouldn't share anything with him at this point. Steeljaw must have still felt off about Blaster 'cause he was currently using me as a shield.

It was a small relief to finally make it to the medbay - the tension between Steeljaw and Blaster seemed to grow with each step. Firstaid was setting up for the day when he turned to face us.

F- "Good morning, Prowl, Blaster, and… Steeljaw? I know why Prowl is here but why are you here Blaster?"

Blaster rubbed the back of his helm, "Well you see, ummm.. I'm not sure how to explain it but…"

Well, that's helpful, "Blaster and Steeljaw seem to have an issue with their symbiotic bond this morning, Firstaid. I assumed that the medbay would have records on this subject matter, so I invited both Blaster and Steeljaw to accompany me here this morning to see if this was the case."

Firstaid blinked rapidly, "Oh… Well, that is a surprise. I haven't had the chance to really go over the medical database. I'll text Ratchet Earthside and see if he has any thoughts."

Firstaid's optics dimmed. He didn't use the hands motions for comming another bot, so he must have been practicing the hands-free technique. Blaster and Steeljaw both fidgeted in their antsiness.

Firstaid's optics returned to their normal color. "Ratchet says he'll be Gameside in a few. In the meantime, why don't y'all take a seat and I can get started on your scan, Prowl."

I hopped onto a berth. Blaster took one across from me while Steel jumped onto one that was right next to mine. Why were those two being so jumpy and distant to each other? They were acting worse than old school friends at a class reunion. Not sure what to make of each other.

As Firstaid carried out my processor scan with a handheld device, Blaster twiddled his thumbs while Steeljaw gave him an unblinking cat stare - the kind that's like "I'm reading your soul you peasant." It felt like an eternity when Ratchet finally stepped through the medbay doors.

R- "Alright, I'm here. 'Aid how's Prowl this morning?"

F- "Prowl is fine. It's Blaster and Steeljaw that need your help this morning."

R- "You said it had something to do with their symbiotic bond, right? *Sees Aid nod* Alright then, Prowl, you can get. *thumb over a shoulder to point the way out* 'Aid, I need your help finding the right datapad."

The medics disappeared into the office that must also serve as the medbay's library. That made sense since one wouldn't want the precious datapads to be ruined by the medical chemicals. But shouldn't there be a place for backups of the data stored some place else on the ship? I'd have to ask.

As I made to get up from my perch, Steeljaw jumped from his berth and laid down close enough where I could feel the small amount of heat coming off his tiny frame while still leaving a respectful distance between us.

Did he want me to stay here to hear Ratchet's pronouncement? Isn't this a matter between cassette and stereo? Why would Steeljaw want me here? Is it because I stood up for him in the mess hall? I wasn't the only bot to do that. Didn't he see Jazz try to help him?

Blaster must have noticed my hesitance about leaving, "It's ok Prowl. *optics dimming in spaced out look* Steeljaw trusts you. *Optics return to normal color* Go ahead and stay - you're helping by just being here to support us. Thanks."

Sitting back down fully, I had the crushing urge to gently pet the winged lion. But I kept myself in check. It wouldn't do to have the S.I.C. get caught being soft. Yesterday didn't count 'cause I was in shock and needed to recover. Also, I don't think Steeljaw would be comfortable with me petting him.

Ratchet came out of the office with a datapad. Firstaid followed with what looked like a board game. Why would there be a board game in the office? Wouldn't the med bay be too busy for that sort of thing? Unless it was for overnight patients.

R- "It says here that your frame type, Blaster, has the ability to host cassetticon frames."

B- "OK, but we already knew that. Does it tell why, after finding Steeljaw's name light up in my vision screen, I call him out to find that I can sense his feelings and that he doesn't know me?"

So Blaster hasn't been able to call out the cassetticons until Steeljaw's name lit up? I guess Steel is the oldest and the scout for the others.

R- "I'm getting there, hold your amps. Cassetticons frames are sparked with incomplete sparks. It takes time for the spark to mature to complete ones. The cassetticons have the abilities to function without a host but they don't have a personally to help them make good decisions while immature, so it's your frame types' job is to host the cassetticons until they have a mature spark. When a cassetticon finds a stereo frame type mech that is willing to care for them, they form a symbiotic bond with the host. The bond is so the cassetticon can gain the personality attribute they want from the mech they are connected too. When their personality is finally established, they can then function as fully autonomous mechs."

F- "So basically Steeljaw is a splinter of your personality. Until he is mature, he is connected to your emotional processes and needs to stay close. *Thrusts board game into Blaster's hands* The reboot, must have dislodged your connection because your personality isn't exactly the same as before. Reconnect."

The Crash - that's game logic for why stuff doesn't work. Hmm, does that mean when the other cassettes wake up that they'll be just as confused?

R- "You two can play in here. I want to monitor the process for future reference when your other cassetticons finally online. *Notices me* Prowl? What are you still doing here! Get! If you're not injured, you don't need to take up space in the med bay!"

Steeljaw gave me a questioning look. I gave a minute nod of reassurance before he jumped over to Blaster to begin playing the game Firstaid had provided. I hid my small smile and turned to make my way out of the door.

Thank you.

That wasn't a comlink. I turned on my heels to see that everybot had their backs to me doing their thing. No one had called out to me and I didn't recognize the voice. Who was that? And how did they hack my systems so they could talk without the comlink?

Ratchet gave a huff and turned away from his machine, "You still here! *A wrench is pulled out from subspace* I told you, get!"

He released the wrench. And in a mad rendition of a cartoon character, I made it through the closing doors at the last second.

A clank and a "drat I missed."

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-Story): Deep Thought pulls to a stop next to an abandoned building. It has a sign that reads, "Lib.a.y." Allora jumps out, looking a little disheveled.**

 **A- "A….aaaa…..achoooo! *sniff* I hate colds."**

 **D- "You sure I can't catch it?"**

 **A- "Yes Thought. I'm sure this isn't the interspecies variety of germ."**

 **D- "If you're sure… So, why'd we stop here? Shouldn't we stop someplace that is warm for you to rest."**

 **A- "This is a good opportunity to do some research for the next few chapters, and besides, I can always bunk in the sleeper car at night. *sniff*"**

 **D- "I thought you were doing great so far."**

 **A- "I am. But it never hurts to add content to future chapters by being well rounded. This chapter took a lot of research on the cassetticon relationships throughout the multiverse. *Sniff* So yeah, it never hurts to do some more research. Plus, I heard that this Library has a copy of the Covenant of Primus."**

 **D- "Oh, so that's really why you're here. You just want to read the Covenant of Primus."**

 **A- "Guilty. I've been waiting to read that book for well over a year. *sniff and turns to readers* So hey guys, I'm still getting your reviews even though they aren't showing up on fanfiction. I blame Deceptiglitches. I might be a little slow for a bit 'cause of this head cold. It makes my brain feel like pea soup. I'm still writing and doing some extensive research for future chapters. More info about the cassetticons will come up in later chapters. I'd give you all hugs but I don't want to get you guys sick. So Bye, love ya."**


	15. Ch14 Constructibots

**Author's Note (Mini-Story): Allora walks out of the abandoned library with a towering stack of books swaying. Deep Thought reaches over and grabs the pile from her.**

 **D- "Here let me."**

 **A- "Thanks, Thought. *Turns to the readers and rubs the back of her head* Hey guys, so sorry about the long wait. When the cold finally seemed like it was over, a convection related to my major hired me to help out. I ended up trying to learn how to take the bus downtown and spending my entire day with possible future internships. I really enjoyed it, but I was always way too tuckered out at the end of every day to update. With classes starting in 3 days for me again, I'm not sure when the update schedule will stabilize again. I promise that I have been constantly going over the future chapters with Deep Thought. I just haven't had the time to write them down, but now I do so you should be seeing more updates in the future. Unless there's a test that week, I'm going to do at least one update and hopefully squeeze one more in before the end of the week."**

 **Deep Thought walks back over to Allora, "You ready to go?"**

 **A- "Yes, let's get this party started."**

* * *

Ch.13 Constructionbots

After leaving the med bay, I figured it would be a good idea to visit the main entrance/exit of the base and see if anyone had started with clearing the debris. We will need to be able to leave the base next week at the earliest. We still had no idea what was outside the base.

Our current game maps only supplied well know areas of the base. If we wanted to know the less known areas, we all had to explore on our own to expand our maps. I haven't had the chance yet, so making the excuse to visit the entrance would give me a reason to be wandering around instead of hiding in my office like Prowl should be doing.

The bangs, thunks, and shouts of construction were increasing volume on my approach to what would have been a giant door if there wasn't a pile of boulders in the way. Rounding the corner, I found that somebody had formed a small posse to tear down the wall formed by the gigantic boulders.

Brawn appeared to be directing the effort. Cosmos and Skyfire were lifting the bigger boulders out of the way since they were the largest of the bots in the room. After they lifted some of the boulders away, Skyfire and Cosmos would set in place a steel beam to help support the ceiling and the wall of rock still there. Gears and Cliffjumper, being minibots, would scramble over their larger comrades bodies to weld the beams into place. If a boulder was acting like it was stuck, either Gears or Cliffjumper would crawl up to the offending boulder and look around to see if they could loosen it for the flight capable bots.

Just then Brawn turned from watching the proceedings and noticed me, "Ah, Prowl what can I do ya for? Would you like an update on how the clearing of the door is going?"

P- "Yes, what is the projected estimate of when the door will be cleared of rock?"

B- "Not sure, we have no idea of how thick the wall is at this point. I wish that we could use a ground penetrating radar or something. *Shrugs shoulders* But that could cause a cave in and we don't know where they are kept. Even if our alt. modes had them installed, it's not like we could transform to access them this week or even next week."

Why wouldn't… Oh yeah, I moved to have transformation trials to wait til next week for safety reasons. Shoot! With my little episode in the training rooms yesterday, Ratchet might just push back those trials till two weeks from now. But we need to start learning as soon as safely possible or we won't be ready in time for the first wave of attack at the end of the month. And for us to start alt. mode training we need to be able to get outside by next week.

P- "I will look into requisition a GPR for you. Do you need more bots assigned to this project? We need the door free of rock by the end of this week."

B- "I think we got a pretty swell team at the moment. Not sure about the next shift, though. It takes time to train new bots. Why do we need the door cleared by the end of the week?"

P- "So we can begin the transformation trials. We will need to be familiar with our alt. modes before the first way of attack."

B- "You think that they'll attack the same day as the cease-fire breaks?"

P- "Yes."

"They'll regret the day that they ever heard the name Cliffjumper."

Brawn and I turned to find that Cliffjumper had broken away from working and was now air boxing for the world to see. He looks like Bartok from Anastasia. He just needed to say " and I kick her sir" to make the image complete.

Skyfire bumped Cliff off balanced with his ped. What should have been a love tap turned out to be an all out shove that sent Cliff sprawling.

Cliff sat back up and sent a glare over to Sky, raising a fist, "Watch it!"

Sky chuckled, "Sorry Cliff, didn't see you there. You're so tiny." He lowers his free hand to just below his knee cap to help make his point.

Oh great, the crew wide teasing of Cliffjumper has begun. Even Skyfire is getting into it. Really? I always thought of him of being the nicest bot.

Cl- "Why I outta!"

B- "Settle down you two. You don't want to cause the another rock slide. Right?"

That caused a few snickers from Gears and Cosmos who were watching the commotion. I guess Cliff and Sky had already caused a rockslide. With a huff Cliff stalked over to the rock pile, Sky just chuckled again and went back to placing a beam into it's proper place for Gears to weld.

Seeing that everything was back in order, Brawn turned back to me. "So you want progress reports for each shift on your desk."

P- "Yes and also list any bots you believe would be helpful with this project. I'll send out an email stating who is to help with the clearing during their shifts Gameside."

B- "Sounds good to me. *Turns to walk away but quickly turns back* Oh, just to let you know, Huffer was looking for you earlier. Something about an office chair."

Office chair? Oh yeah, Ratchet said yesterday that he was going to send it over to Huffer so he could replicate it for the med bay. He must be done with drafting the design.

P- "Thank you, Brawn, be sure to stop by my office with an update on this project before logging out today."

B- "Sure thing Prowl."

Calling up my GPS on my vision screen, I asked it where Huffer was. It stated that he was in the Workshop. A room far away from Wheeljack's labs thankful. A helpful yellow started to point in the right direction for me to take.

* * *

Yep, having a GPS was very helpful, especially if you wanted to take the longest route possible. I still had to explore in order to add to my little map. My little exploratory trip into the darkened corridors that weren't currently being used didn't take me too far off course.

There were loose wires sparking, puddles of oil scattered across the floors were pipes had broken on impact. There wasn't any light so I had to rely on my door wings to tell me where everything was. There didn't seem to be anything behind the doors except the crates of supplies, and the occasional laboratory.

This ship must have been a research vessel before the Autobots had to commandeer it for the Exodus. Or at least, that is what the game designers wanted the players to think it was. I still haven't heard anything about anyone finding the Engineering room. A place to work on the engines while inside the ship. Though I did find a few extra cave-ins in the darkened corridors so it is totally possible that the Engineering room was either blocked off or didn't exist at all cause the game designers just put a cave-in there instead.

Well, that was enough exploring for today. I can hit the deeper sections tomorrow. Hopeful. Walking back over to the nearest lighted area, I found which way the arrow was pointing, in a pulsating kind of way, and started off.

The doors along here were either labeled with numbers or the room's function. It didn't take long to find the Workshop since the sound of a bandsaw screaming was coming from the opened door.

The room had the things you would expect to find in any respectable garage. Tools hanging on the walls, boxes on wheels, those skateboard-thing-a-bobs used to roll underneath cars, workbenches and stools. Huge power tools that took up so much space that I was always surprised how they left enough room for people to work. Raw materials and metal bars lay against free walls support by floor cut outs. There was a door off to the left that most likely lead to one of the supply rooms I had just finished exploring.

Huffer was currently wearing a pair of black safety goggles while sawing away at a random metal rod. With the sparks being thrown up against his football Viking color scheme, he looked like a tiny dwarf of German mythology. I really shouldn't think of him as a dwarf even though his is a minicon. My chair was sitting a safe distance away from the sparks next to a drawing board that had a blueprint of the chair's dimensions.

Huffer stopped what he was doing and moved his goggles to the top of his helm. The goggles were nearly touching the canopy that always hover over his helm because of his alt. modes' design. It was reminded me of a turtle, like Donatello.

H- "'Bout time you showed up. *points over to the chair* There's your chair."

'Bout time you showed up? Just how long was he waiting?

P- "How long were you waiting."

He just shrugs his shoulders. Well, that was helpful.

P- "Why didn't you com me to pick up my chair."

Shrugs again, "Why would a top bot like you care to hear from me? No one cares about what I have to say and they don't bother to talk to me unless they want something."

Ouch. That is rough, but where did he get the idea that I wouldn't want to hear from him?

P- "Huffer, you can com me whenever necessary."

H- "But not whenever I just want to talk right? I can't take time away from your work. I'm nothing but cannon fodder to you."

Ok, I phrased that last bit wrong. But he is kind of right about the conversation bit. But where did he get the cannon fodder bit?

I allowed a frown to grace my face plates, "Huffer, you are not cannon fodder. You are a valuable member of this team. You.."

"I'm not! I'm nothing more than a throwaway character! Someone everybody laughs at and talks behind their backs about. I'm worthless, I've got no special skills whatsoever. I'm easily replaced. I'm the first one to fall when the first battle comes around. You'll see! I'll be killed within the first minute!"

By now my wings had escaped my control and were hitched up high in anger. No one show be this depressed or think themselves worthless!

"YOU ARE NOT WORTHLESS! You were chosen out of millions to come here and be a part of something great. We get to decide what happens in this world because it is just a game. A game where you can be whoever you wanted to be. I'm sorry you got a character you didn't want or is not well loved, but that doesn't matter. You are a part of my team and I'm not going to let you fall within the first minute of battle if that is what you're afraid of. *Lowers door wings slightly* Now if you listen of a sec. I was going to say that you can sit down with me in the mornings and evening for a cube if you like. I might be busy during the day, but I'm always willing to listen even if it's over a comlink."

Now I was the one huffing from my venting while Huffer watched in shock. Oh great, I've probably broken the poor fella and possible revealed who I am to some extent. Quickly returning my wings back into their proper place and making my face neutral again, I turned to look over the blueprint again.

"This is fine work, I'm sure the chairs will be more than adequate when finished. I don't know how many you're making for the medbay but I would like four more to be made. Three of them the same as the others and the last one to be enlarged for Skyfire's benefit. I don't believe that we have anything for him to rest comfortably on. Also, we don't have a manifest of the supplies on board the ship from before it crashed. Would you be willing to inventory the supplies and send me a list? It will be vital when the battles commence so we know when it's time to go scout for more materials. We don't want Ratchet running out of supplies after a battle."

Huffer gathered himself and shook his helm hard enough that I was surprised that it didn't fall off. I must have really startled him from my outburst.

"Ah… Sure thing Prowl... Sir. I'll make a list of the supplies after I finished the chairs."

I don't know how but he managed to place his hand behind his helm. I thought the canopy would prevent that from being possible.

H-"You'd be willing to hang out at Gameside dinner tonight?"

"Yes."

I grabbed the back of my chair and wheeled it out of the hall, and paused long enough to hear the bandsaw turn on again. Yeah, I didn't scar him for life with my outburst. I'm kind of surprised it wasn't Jazz or the Terror Twins to make me break out of character and shout at the top of my lungs.

I didn't want bots to see Prowl wheeling around his office for whatever reason so I ducked back into the unlit hallways. With the help of the darkness and my door wings, I was able to stealth my way back to my office. I'm sure that if Red Alert was on monitor duty today that I would have caused him to fritz out by now with my disappearing act. That and the fact I was wheeling around an office chair.

I just finished getting everything set back the way it was supposed to be in my office and sat down when the door swished open to reveal Jazz with a big old grin on his face and two cubes of energon.

J- "Lunchtime."

"It can't be lunch time it's only…" *Checks chronometer and found that it was noon.*

Jazz chuckled and handed over my cube, "Figured you'd forget what time it was. With you running around all morning. Mind if I sit?"

Oh, no he can't be in here after lunch. I don't know what he'll be doing afterwards but I don't want him thinking that I logged out for the day until dinner time.

"Not at all, but once you finish your cube I'll have to ask you to leave."

Grinning "Why, you trying to get rid of me?"

"Yes, I have sensitive simulations that need to be run after lunch. I need to be completely alone for them to work properly."

"Ok, Prowler. I'll get, after this cube so you can work on whatever scheme you're cooking up."

"It's Prowl, and I'm not cooking up some scheme."

Grinning madly as he took a sip, "Sure you aren't."

* * *

 **Author's Note (mini-Story):** **Deep Thought pulls to a stop in front of a tiny little mail station and Allora jumps out to stretch.**

 **A- "Yeah, glad to be back on track. I send hugs and love to all my readers, you guys make my day."**

 **Deep Thought transformers, "We can't wait to hear from you and to see you next chapter."**


	16. Ch15 The Grand Lunch Debate

**Author's Note (Mini-Story): Deep Thought walks down the track searching for Allora.**

 **D- "Allora! Where are you."**

 **"Mmm mm Mmmmm!"**

 **Thought paused, that sound was coming from the train cars that Allora had converted into a study space for homework. He walks over and taps the top of it.**

 **D- "Allora you in there?"**

 **"Mmmm! Mmm Mm Mmmmmm! Mmmm M MMMMM!"**

 **Thought opens the train door and a tid** **al wave of paper and books comes flooding out. A pair of legs can be seen within the mottled black and white mass. Thought gently grabbed the legs between his thumb and finger and pulled. Out popped Allora from the mass.**

 **A- "Thanks, Thought, you can put me down now."**

 **D- "What happened? I thought you said you wouldn't have that much homework."**

 **A- "I know but my courses conspired against me. With reading over 150 pages of academic material every two days, I'm going have to cut down the update to only Saturdays in order to keep afloat in school. I'm sorry Thought, I really wish that I had more time to work on this."**

 **D- "It's ok, you do what you gotta do. For now, let's get this chapter rolling."**

 **A- "Yes but one note to the readers first. This chapter is inspired by reviews from everybody and a conversation I had with Jazzilynn Hall. I hope you guys enjoy it cause I sure did. Also, if you read words in the conversations ahead that change from lower to upper and back again. The uppercased words mean group/name/team. The lower is frame type. It will make sense when you get to it."**

* * *

Ch.15 The Grand Lunch Debate

Blinking back into reality, I stretched to get used to being human again. Setting the oxygen mask back on its rack and grabbed my glasses, it wasn't too long till I heard a familiar voice.

David bounced over to my pod, "Hey KarKar, you ready for lunch?"

What happened to Karry? , "I'm so ready. *Grabs the offered hand* So what happened to Karry?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "What can I say? I like giving my friends nicknames and coming up with as many as I can. Why? You don't like nicknames or something?"

"I like nicknames, it's just that I'm not used to them. That and only my brothers use nicknames with me. It's kind of weird to hear it from someone else."

"So you don't want me using a nickname with you?"

Shaking my head, "Nah, it's cool that you want to use a nickname with me. *Not really maybe later* Just don't be surprised if I don't respond to it at first."

"Sounds good."

The stream of players logging out to head over the lunch increased as David and I made our way over to the mess hall. The Russian duo raced ahead of us. I couldn't tell if they were actually racing or if Wes had annoyed Login to the extreme again. I missed Login's look so I couldn't tell the what the situation was like between the close friends.

The smell of summer barbecue wafted out the door of the mess, enveloping us in it's sent.

 _Dad was outside, currently checking over the burgers to see if the cheese was melted yet. Owen and Alex were sitting on the couch, punching away on their game cube remotes trying to beat each other at Smash Bros. Mom was sitting at her desk that was pushed into the corner, going the script for her next acting gig. I was currently getting plates, forks, and condiments setup of the kitchen island so that everyone could get plates without too much fuss. Of course, our family was famous for making things way to complicated when it was too simple._

 _The beep de beep that signaled that one of the doors leading out of the house went off and Dad stuck his head in. His hair caught was getting to be too long, past inches in length, so he would need to see his favorite old time barber soon before drill started up again._

 _D- "Lunch is ready."_

 _The he walked back into the house to get his plate while everyone else got up from their activities to crowd around the center island. Owen being Owen just grabbed a plate and bun, not bothering with condiments like the rest of us cause he like his burgers plan. He started to make his way over to the deck door and froze._

 _O- "Wasp!"_

 _Alex jumped back away from the kitchen island towards the fridge, "Wasp!"_

 _Dad being totally chill and continuing to lather his burger with mustard *yuk*, " Well get rid of it."_

 _Owen gave a horrified look, "But it will sting me!"_

 _Mom looked briefly to see where the wasp was, then went back to putting mayo on her bun. His look reminded me of the trick that both she and Dad would do whenever dealing with stinging bugs._

 _I put down my plate, "Not if you do it right."_

 _I went over to the cupboard to grab an extra cup that had a huge rim. The kind you get in movie theaters if you get the jumbo-sized drinks. With that in hand, I went over to the wasp and waiting until it stopped trying to fly out the door. I place the cup the wasp, trapping both it and me because I forgot something._

 _K- "Hey Alex, can you get me a stiff piece of scratch paper."_

 _I heard a clank and running of footsteps before a piece of junk mail bigger enough to cover the lip of the cup was shoved into my face._

 _A- "Here."_

 _K- "Thanks"_

 _Grabbing the paper with my free hand, I slid underneath the cup so it was between the wasp and the glass. I hope that I didn't accidentally squish it's legs while doing that._

 _K- "Could someone get the door for me?"_

 _The door opened in front of me and the screen door too. Quickly walking towards the deck stairs and onto the backyard, I started to pretend that I could talk to the wasp._

 _Alright bud, I did yay a solid. Now you do me a one by not stinging anybody and flying home. Ok?_

 _I waited a sec, then lift the cup away. The wasp was calmly waiting around the paper, perfectly pleased to be carried for a little bit. It was tiring trying to fly out a glass door._

 _Ok bud, you can go now._

 _I gently wiggled the piece of paper and blew on it. The wasp lifted off, hovered around for a sec, forcing me to stand still so it wouldn't get stuck in my hair. Then it flew away into the distance. It felt like it was saying thanks and bye._

During the entire time of my little memory jump, David and I made our way through the lunch line and over to our table. Just as I was setting my plate onto the table, my communicator buzzed me. I pulled it out to see what was up.

 _Prowl, I know that you have been working on getting the base running. I would like to have a meeting, about what needs to get done and what everyone's job is. I'm emailing everyone to meet in the Conference Room 1, the one just before my office, before the dinner energon cube. I'm emailing the other team's leaders so you don't have to worry about that. Ironhide too since he is training everybot:)_

 _See you then, OP._

Chuckling, I put away my communicator. Ironhide equals smiley face, lol. Ariel taught OP's Player's right. But I will have to get him to not to keep doing that with official stuff. David was trying to lift his left eyebrow and failing amazing at it while giving me a goofy grin.

D- "What are you laughing at?"

K- "Just a text I got."

D- "Anyone I know?"

K- "I would hope so."

D- "You telling?"

K- "Nope."

D- "O come on, I can keep a secret."

K- "Still not telling."

Just then, Kayle, Hannah, and Brandon walked up with their trays.

H- "What's Karen not telling?"

K- "Nothing."

While David piped, "Who's her boyfriend."

Shooting him a look, "I don't got a boyfriend."

He just and everyone else just laughed. Within the first week of being at N.E.S.T., I admitted to never having a boyfriend and how my Dad and Grandpa would always ask how's my boyfriend even though they knew that I didn't have one.

Kaylie decided that she was going to get the great game debate rolling today, "What's up with Cosmos? In G1, he was a minibot. Why is he a giant like Skyfire?"

H- "Maybe it's a glitch."

D- "Maybe he was tired of being short?"

K- "I never thought of him as a minicon."

Everyone whipped around to stare at me and Brandon put down his burger.

K- "I never really finished the G1 series cause of college and the library not having all the disks available. Whenever I read fanfiction and looked up tfwiki, I always imagined Cosmos as a giant flyer. I've never thought of him as a minicon."

Brandon had a look like I just affronted him, "What did you just say?"

What did I say? "I never really finished the G…"

B- "After that!"

K- "Uuuhhh… I've never thought of him as a minicon?"

B- "Autobots are not mincons!"

Um wasn't minicon just a frame type? "I thought minicon was a name for small frame type."

Now he his cute angry face morphed into the even cuter confused face. "Where did you get that idea? Autobots have always had bot at the end of their name and Cons cons for theirs."

Kar- "Well… I kind of grew up with Transformers Cybertron. Jolt, Reverb, and Six Speed were always minicons. Going back to Transformers Energon just confirmed in my mind that tiny bots were called minicons."

H- "But those bots were tinier than the G1 team of minibots. How did you separate them from the Minibots, Minions, Cassettibots, and Cassetticons?"

What! the Autobot cassetticons were cassettibots? Why me? I have to change the way I think about them now too. Grr.

Kar- "When I figured that out, I started calling the Minibots minicons and the Transformers Cybertron cycle minicon micro-minicons."

Kaylie snorted while taking a sip of her drink, "I always called those guys microbots."

David brought up the most important question of the day, "So does that mean that Micronus is a Minicon, Minibot, or Microcon?"

Was he called a minicon/bot in the Covenant of Primus? I don't remember them stating that he was called a Minicon/bot or Microbot/con, just that he was able to sit atop Solus' helm, hide in Onyx's mane, and share his power/energy with the other primes like a mincon from Transformers Energon. Hmm… I'll have to dig out my copy to see if there is anything I missed. Maybe a pic of Micronus next to his siblings?

Kar- "Well he was able to Power Link like the minicons of Transformers Energon."

Brandon threw up his arms and settled into a pout with his arms crossed. "That's fine and dandy but I think Karen owes an apology to the Minibots."

David lend over and poke his arm, "Why, is somebody suffering from little dog syndrome?"

Brandon batted him away, "No… maybe kind of."

Why would Brandon be suffering from little dog syndrome if he is taller than me? He's, at least, a good 4 inches taller than my 5'2". About as tall as my brothers. There is no reason… unless he was a minibot in the game. Oh, that would explain it. Just as I was about to ask Brandon if he was a minibot, Kaylie jumped in.

Kay- "Why would you feel short? You're taller than Karen and me."

B- "Well *scratches the back of his head* I come from a tall family. All the guys are either at 6" or near it. I'm the shortest of my family. I've always identified with the minibots. That and Bee is cool."

H- "Well that's a given. Hasbro can't mess up Bee no matter what they do. Even in the new Robots in Disguise, he is awesome and adorable."

Everyone at varying times- "Totally agreed."

Kar- "So I'll start calling Minibots by their proper name and not minicons. I'm still calling the minibots and minicons that can power link and are as tiny as humans as micro-minicons. Sound good?"

B- "You including the Cassettibots in there too?"

K- "And the Cassettibots. What got us going down this track of conversation again?"

D- "You calling Cosmos a minicon."

Kar- "Oh that, we still haven't figured out why he was a giant like Skyfire have we?"

Everyone else- "Nope."

Kar- "Ok, here's my theory. The game designers wanted him to be that big for the game. *Sees everyone about to protect* Now hear me out first before you all drown me with questions. * List the points off with my left hand* One, the Ark's engines don't exist in the game. Two, the only flier that could have carried bots, before Cosmos was big, was Skyfire. And finally, Cosmos now has the ability to do something that is super way cool. He can take bots to space in his carry hold. Bam! *Sits back and crosses arms*"

Everyone's eyes lighted up in delight. The possibilities were endless with Cosmos being able to take us up into space. We could have space battles with the Decepticons. Explore nearby celestial bodies. Maybe meet alien NPCs for trading. Anti-Gravity ball games. There was so much to do. With Skyfire, it might have been possible but it was never assured. But now with Cosmos, it was certain.

B- "When that entrance is unblocked I'm begging Cosmos to take me into space the first chance I get."

D- "Yay, we are so going into space."

Kar- "But guys you're forgetting one thing. *Everyone gives me the don't you dare crush our dreams look* Cosmos doesn't know how to transform yet. In fact, none of us do."

Kaylie slumped into her chair and fiddled with a french fry, "Oh yay."

H- "I completely forgot about that. With everything feeling so natural in the game, I forgot about transforming."

D- "You had to ruin the moment."

Kar- "Sorry but you guys were getting ahead of yourselves a little bit. How would you like to be Cosmos and being bombarded with requests when you don't even know how to transform yet? Or even fly for that matter."

D- "You saying that your Cosmos?"

Snort. Giggle. "No, I was just trying to give perspective."

D- "Well then, who are yay?"

Kar- "I'm not telling."

David shrugged his shoulders, "Worth a shot."

We all went back to our food. I wonder who Brandon and David were in the game. I know Hannah is Hound and Kaylie is First Aid but that's because of circumstances forced that knowledge into my brain. If I hadn't gotten myself into that mess yesterday, Kaylie wouldn't have had to show me who she was in the game.

Scanning the room, I tried to figure who I knew and who they might be in the game. Let's see Doc Raf is Ratchet. Josh is Smokescreen the poker game proved that. The Russians act like the Terror Twins but they aren't twins or even related so how would that work? Do we even have siblings on base? Or twins for that matter? Hmm…

Ricky, Ricky, Ricky so totally screams Red Alert but that could be a ruse to keep people from guessing his real character. But Jessica doesn't think so. If Ricky is Red Alert then would Jessica be Inferno. No, just because they are friends doesn't make them game buddies. It's not like Mirage is sitting with Hannah.

*Eyes David and Brandon* Yep neither of them are Mirage. Mirage is a snot.

I see Will, Peter, Kyle and Patrick but I've got no idea who they are yet. I have them, David, Brandon, Ricky, Jessica, Wes, Logan and all the other players to figure out.

I wonder who Jazz is? Will Jazz's player even like me? Will he figure out that who I am in real life? Que memory of fanfiction stories about Jazz stocking Prowl cause he was interesting and Jazz wanted to figure out his inner workings. *Shiver* That's a scary thought. To have a real life Jazz stocking you to figure out how your brain ticked. Creepy.

H- "Hey Karen, it's about time to head over to the greenhouse. You coming?"

"Yes, just a sec."

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-Story): Deep Thought pulls to a stop and Allora jumps out and unhooks him from the other train cars. He transforms.**

 **A- "Hey guys, this chapter is dedicated to you readers. You guys are amazing and it's so much fun to write for you all. Where ever you're from, just know that you all have a special place in my heart."**

 **D- "Same goes for my spark."**

 **A- "I wish that I could have another chapter ready before Saturday again, but my course workload will not let me. Just remember, I'm always working on this story and it's always adapting. I can't wait to get started on the next chapter, but for now, I have to read another 60 pages for classes. See you and hugs."**


	17. Ch16 Green Works

**Author's Note (Mini-Story): Deep Thought was currently walking down the line of train cars. Heading over to the car converted to Allora's homework office. He had just doubled checked the map and wanted to share the big news. Coming to the door, he knocked.**

 **D- "Allora, you awake."**

 **No sound. Opening the door. He found that the paper was now stacked up high with little pathways scattered about for walking. Allora was currently perched on top one of these piles, catching up on some zs.**

 **Smiling, Thought closed the door, hooked himself up, and starting rolling down the track.**

 **The surprise would be better anyway after they got to the next station.**

* * *

Ch.16 Green Works

After lunch, Hannah and I headed over the greenhouse. It was a way aways from the gaming room, the dining hall, the dorms, the gyms, from everything in general really. The trip felt like a two-mile hike without all the hills and stuff in the way. The greenhouse was probably so far away from everything cause it had so much soil particles that could get into delicate equipment and the base designers didn't want the computers to get messed up from the junk.

Personally, it was cool that the greenhouse was so isolated from everything. When you walked in, it was like you had traveled to another world. No longer was their bare gun metal grey walls, with high overhead ceiling with fluorescent light fixtures.

No more random doors, and seems placed randomly about. This place was a green smell of freshly turned soil, running water, and growing things permeated the air. The walls were painted a sky blue.

There was more than one room to this oasis. Each room had different environments for all the plant species we had grown. Not only did the greenhouse had rooms for growing food and medical herbs, but it also had gardens for woodland, prairie, desert, and many other biomes(environments basically). The greenhouse was basically a huge garden center for relaxation with benches hidden about. It was to be a place to remind everyone that we didn't come from a world made of metal. Each room was unique, except for two things. The lighting system and the CO2 feeding system.

Lights hung from the ceiling at different levels and some of the lights were strung through the leaves kind of like Christmas lights. The lights were made from LEDs that were designed for what light color levels the plants liked, not for our human eye. Most of the lights were set to give off more red light(tells plants that there is enough light) then far red light (tells plants that there isn't enough light) to encourage the leaf unfolding rate (rate at which plant leaves unfold) to increase without too much internode (The part of the stem between the leaves) elongation. This created full bodied plants that were relatively short so they were easier to manage. The lights were also on different timers to simulate different day and night lengths so the plants would know when to mature(flower). The amount of light all the plants were receiving was around 400 micromoles per meter squared per second (mol/m2s).

The CO2 feeding system only kicked in when no one was around. It was designed to give the plants all the CO2 they wanted to flourish through the greenhouse's ventilation system. This was around 20 micromoles per meters squared per sec for each plant. And that was too much CO2 for humans. But it was perfect for the plants, so the computer system worked along with motion detectors in the hallway leading up to the greenhouse to ensure that no humans were around for this process.

The computer was housed in a special room that had all the major systems for running the greenhouse. That way, we didn't have to search of the sprinkler in the food room then trying to find the air conditioning all the way in the woodland room that was 5 rooms away. Hannah and I nicknamed it Houston because of this and it was where we stashed everything we didn't want in the greenhouse.

Entering Houston, Hannah began to disconnect her left sleeve from her suit. It was easy to find the correct lines to remove our suits' sleeves cause the second day here, both of us ambushed Doc Raf to color code those lines green for us. Thinking about it made me smile.

 _Doc Raf was sitting at his desk with his arms crossed, " What do you two want?"_

 _H- "Oh, nothing much."_

 _K- "Yay, we would just like you to change the color of some of the lines on our suits."_

 _R- "What makes you think I could do that and why would I want to do that?"_

 _K- "Well, you are in charge of the suits' functioning system, right?"_

 _R- "Right."_

 _H- "And you don't want us to take them off, right?"_

 _R- "Right?"_

 _K- "Well, it's kind of hard to work in the greenhouse without doing one of those things. So we came up with a compromise. If you color code which part of the sleeve to remove, we can work without getting too much dirt on them and you can still keep track of our vitals with the rest of the suit."_

 _Doc Raf pinched the bridge of his nose shaking his head, "Fine, I'll help you color code the correct line. *Points a finger at us* But you don't go spreading this feature to the others. I don't want to be bombarded by everyone wanting to color code their suits. It would be a nightmare."_

 _He then took out a pen that had it's tip colored black. He plugged it into a special port on his computer, messed with some code, and pulled it out to reveal a green tip. With this, he traced over the correct lines a few millimeters away from the fabric. The lines changed to green after he was done tracing them._

I returned to the present when there was a knock on the door.

H- "It's unlocked."

The door was like the other fancy mancy doors on base. No, you actually had to turn the doorknob and push to open it. Just like back home. Wish I knew why this door was different, but hey you can't know everything.

The door opened to reveal Kyle.

Ky- "Am I late?"

H- "No your just in time. Take off your sleeves and place them into one of the empty pots. *Points at the desk that held artified pots* Doc Raf doesn't want us to get them dirty while we're working."

Still getting my sleeves off, "Do you mind if I listen to some music while we work?"

Ky- "What style is it?"

K- "Just some upbeat Jazz. Nonvocal. I like music I can dance to while working."

Ky- "Sure, I don't mind."

H- "Alright, let's roll out."

Both Hannah and I giggled while Kyle rolled his eyes as we headed out of the computer room. We were heading over to the main food growing room.

Ky- "So why what exactly are we working on today?"

K- "An aquaponics system for the food area."

Ky- "And that is?"

H- " Water cycles between a pond full of fish and the plants that need to be watered."

K- "The plants filter and clean the water of nutrients so it's safe for the fish to swim in. The fish pop in this water after eating. Basically, fertilizar for the plants. The poppy water then goes to the plants and they filter it again. The cycle is constantly going. It saves money because we are recycling the water, not spending money on fertilizer, and the fish add another source of food in our greenhouse."

Ky- "Why would we need to save money and why do we need to have another source of food?"

H- "Cause this stuff is fun."

K- "That and we send our produce Topside for meals so it's fresh. And if Hasbro doesn't have to spend as much money feeding us and maintaining the greenhouse, they are probably more likely to pay for some fun stuff."

Ky- "Such as?"

K- "Well… before we went Topside, there was this movie I wanted to see. Zootopia."

Ky- "Aren't we forbidden to have anything from the Real World from coming in?"

K- "They just said no contact, as in no family friends, or new media. They might just let us have copies of new movies coming out if they feel generous."

Ky- "So you too are just buttering them up."

H- "Yep, and this is cool stuff we are working on."

Soon we came up to the food growing area. The right side of the room was the normal but the left side had become a mini construction zone. A tank was set up for the fish and some of the plumbing was set up but there was still a bunch of stuff to do.

Kyle worked right over to the instructions, studied them for a few seconds, and then dove right into the work.

Ky- "Hannah can you find a the plumbing cement? Karen, can you find a couple of 90-degree elbows?"

Both the girls, "Sure thing."

I turned on my tunes and we were off.

* * *

After working on the plumbing for the aquaponic station for a few hours, Hannah had to go take care of some of our other projects in the other rooms. Like the Bee colonies in the prairie, flower, and fruit rooms. She said she'll be back with drinks and snacks.

I didn't mind losing the extra set of hands. Kyle and I had developed a system. I would read the instructions to see what he needed next and when he finished one part I would get him the next thing. It really speeded things up. The system might even be ready in time for the fish.

Ky- "So why does this system need to be here? Can't it be in a side room or something?"

K- " It can be in a side room, but we don't want to punch holes in the walls. Plus it's cool being able to see the system at work."

Ky- "I guess that makes sense. So where is all this after going to come from?"

K- "The water system already has a tank that stores the used water. It puts it into another tank for fertilizer. With this, we can bypass that second tank. We can't do it for all of the greenhouse yet. But this is a good start."

Ky- "Alright. Could you hold this bit for a minute? The cement is still drying and I don't want to bump it out of place while working on this new section."

K- "Sure thing."

I had to crawl under the plumbing that was already done. Laying down on my back, I faced the ceiling and held out the pipe that was still drying. Kyle's hand and wrists came into view overhead, working on the new section.

I had to keep myself from gasping out loud. His wrists had a series of faint lines. Most of them perfectly parallel to each other, but there was two oddball ones that cut across the others. None of the marks looked pink, but I knew what they were. Something that I say once in high school and ignored.

Cuts. The kind that friends tried to hide cause it meant that they didn't want to deal with the world's pain anymore. Kyle had a severe form of depression and possible had tried to kill himself in the past based on the jagged lines. But none of them looked fresh so I shouldn't bring it up.

Ky- "Ok, now you can come out from there. It should be dry now."

Hoping the heaviness in my throat didn't show in my tone, "Ok." I crawled out. Just as I was almost home free, my communicator bumped one of the pipes, and the music switched to a different playlist.

"You come to me with scars on your wrist

You tell me this will be the last night feeling like this"

Oh no! Not this song! Not right now!

Moving to stop my communicator, "I'm so sorry."

Ky- "No it's fine. I kind of want to listen."

"I just came to say goodbye

I didn't want you to see me cry, I'm fine

But I know it's a lie.

This is the last night you'll spend alone

Look me in the eyes so I know you know

I'm everywhere you want me to be.

The last night you'll spend alone,

I'll wrap you in my arms and I won't let go,

I'm everything you need me to be.

Your parents say everything is your fault

But they don't know you like I know you they don't know you at all

I'm so sick of when they say

It's just a phase, you'll be o.k. you're fine

But I know it's a lie.

The last night away from me

The night is so long when everything's wrong

If you give me your hand I will help you hold on

Tonight,

Tonight.

I won't let you say goodbye,

I'll be your reason why.

The last night away from me,

Away from me."

With the song ended, I turned off my communicator before Monster by Skillet could wreak the mode. Kyle didn't look mad. He looked like he was really relaxed but worried. Possibly about my reaction.

K- " I am so sorry. I didn't mean for that to happen."

He put his hand up and I tried to not stare at the scars. "It's fine, I know it wouldn't be too long before people found out. You like Skillet?"

K- "I do. I love my worship music and everything but Skillet helps remind me that's it's ok to struggle."

Ky- "It sure does, plus it's just great music in general."

K- "Yep… So you're Christian too?"

Ky- "I'm not sure that I could call myself Christian. But Skillet's music does help. *Signs* I've struggled with depression for a long time. At home, my folks would always argue and at school, no one would notice me. I was just the kid dressed in rags in the back corner. I even tried to end my life. But my older sister just came back from college and found in time. Ever since I've been living with her and going to thereby."

K- "That's great."

Ky- "Yay but I could never really get over the idea that I didn't matter to anyone. But then Hasbro announced the Beta test."

K- "And you got in."

Ky- "Yeah I did and I told myself that wouldn't cut anymore if I did. So here I am."

K- "So is this helping?"

Ky- "I'm not sure yet. I haven't really made any friends except Gameside. I don't know if they would even hang out with me Earthside."

K- "Well, I think of myself as your friend."

Ky- "You do?"

K- "Yay, why not? I mean. You're nice and it's been fun hanging out. I wouldn't mind being your friend Earthside."

Ky- "What about Gameside?"

K- "I have a feeling we'll find figure it out eventually."

Ky- "I could tell you who I am Gameside."

K- "But that would take away the fun."

Kyle smiled, the goofy kind that says you're fun to hang out with. "Ok, I bet I'll figure out who you are first."

K- "No bets. You want to jam to some more Skillet?"

Ky- "Yes!"

With that we went back to work, singing our hearts out to Skillet's wide range of songs.

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-Story): Deep Thought pulls up to a little station in a tiny town. Allora jumps out from her office car. Her hair a mess. She then runs over to Thought and kicks one of his wheels.**

 **A- "Why didn't you wake me up?"**

 **D- "You needed to sleep some more. Plus, I have a surprise."**

 **A- "Just what would that be?"**

 **"Me."**

 **Allora whips around to find Lancer standing next a backpack. A big old grin on her face."**

 **A- "Lancer!"**

 **Girls run to each other and embrace. Jumping up and down.**

 **A- "I'm so glad your back. Back in Chapter 10, it was a huge relief to find out that you were ok."**

 **Lancer laughed, "I'm glad that I could get away from the glitches. And now I'm back to help you out."**

 **The girls head off into town to catch up.**

 **D- "Gals, you forgot something. Gals? Find I'll fill in the readers. Hey, guys, Lancer is back to beta read again. This chapter was super fun to write and cause the feels for Allora. The song is Last Night Alone by Skillet. Look it up on youtube and listen to it. It really adds to the story. Hugs to everyone and we'll see you guys next weekend."**


	18. Ch17 Why Me?

**Author's Note (Mini-Story): Lancer and Allora were getting the last of her things on the train while Deep Thought finished transforming.**

 **A- "So glad you're back."**

 **L- "Yeah me too. How was your short hike?"**

 **A- "It was great, I was able to finish a short drabble for a contest being hosted TheSarcasticKnight for her story Small Fry. *Turns to readers* The drabble is called A Toy Guardian and is based on Small Fry. If you guys want to read it, I suggest that you read Small Fry first then my drabble. It will make more sense that way. Also, thanks to a suggestion by Mindmaze, this chapter is an extra 185 words longer than normal. We both felt that I kind of cheated the last chapter with typing in the song lyrics."**

 **Deep Thought gave a toot of his whistle, causing Allora and Lancer to scramble to finish up.**

* * *

Ch. 17 Why Me?

Kyle and I were just finishing with our mini-jam Skillet fest when Hannah popped her head back in.

H- "Hey guys, it's almost time for dinner. You ready to head over to the VR room?"

K- "Sure thing, just let us finish cleaning up."

We quickly finished getting everything set up for the next day's work and joined Hannah in the hallway towards the Houston computer room.

Ky- "Before you left us, Hannah, you said that the greenhouse had bees?"

H- "Sure do. Makes it easier to maintain the prairie area, since we now don't have to pollinate by hand."

Ky- "How are you guys keeping the bees from getting out? There are people with allergies on base."

K- "We have fans placed to encourage the bees from leaving the rooms, like in Butterfly houses. Why, are you allergic to bees?"

Ky- "Thankfully, no. But I do know that Michael is allergic and was thankful that he didn't have to worry about them anymore."

Mentally going through my mental list of all the player's faces, I couldn't place Michael's face to his name.

K- "Remind me, who's Michael again?"

H- "He likes to be called Mike and he's that player was living over in England before the contest."

That made me reflect back on the first day that Hannah and I were on base.

 _David and I had finished walking towards the mess hall. There was plenty of tables for sitting but there hadn't been enough players around yet for them to be filled. Hannah and Brandon were already sitting down for some chow._

 _K- "You mind if we sit with Hannah and Brandon?"_

 _D- "Not at all. I'll just flag down Mike so he could join us."_

 _I got my grub and had sat down next to Hannah. David came over with who I assumed to be Mike. Mike hadn't been wearing the game suit yet. He was taller than Hannah and had black hair that was combed straight. He had been dressed in what appeared to be a prep school uniform. It was merely a university uniform for certain individuals. The emblem sewed on the shirt had said Vulpes University. I hadn't recognized the name but that probably meant that your family had to be in the know in order for you to go there._

 _Mike's blue eyes had glanced towards us, "Good evening, Brandon. Ladies, I don't believe we have met yet. My name is Michael Alexander, but you can call me Mike."_

 _Hannah had motioned to me, "This is Karen and I'm Hannah. Please to meet you." She had turned to David. "And you are?"_

 _K- "That's David. I invited him to sit with us."_

 _D- "It's a pleasure to meet you, Hannah. Hi, Brandon."_

 _B- "Hey, David. Mike. You guys going to sit down or what?"_

Back to the present, "You mean that guy that was all super proper that first day?"

H- "Yep."

K- "Oh… I wonder why he stopped sitting with us during meals."

H- "Well, one of his middle school friends showed up and I think your joke about his college put him off."

K- "What joke?"

H- "You said something along the lines of the school being where foxes are trained."

K- "I said that?... I really don't remember that. But that does make some sense since Vulpes is the genus for foxes."

Kyle laughed, "You really said that to Mike?"

K- "I don't remember. I do try to make jokes, but they always seem to fall flat."

H- "Yeah, since you don't seem to get when other people are being sarcastic around you."

K- "I do get it… Sometimes."

They both laughed at me and my face started to warm up. I couldn't help having an honest reaction whenever someone was being sarcastic with me. I just had a hard time with it. I couldn't know everything.

Thankful, we had made it to Houston by then so we grabbed our gear and headed out of the greenhouse. I was the last one out, so I had my back to the hallway while closing the door all the way. I turned and jumped up in surprise.

There was Doc Raf with his hands on his hips, his left foot tapping, and his face scrunched up in a frown. What did we do to get on his bad side?

R- "And just why aren't you answering your communicator?"

We didn't know who he was talking to, so all of us pull off our communicators to see what was wrong with them. I froze; mine said that there would be no disturbances. Not only did it switch which playlist I was listening to when I bumped it, it changed the setting for notifications. I turned them back on and found that Doc Raf had tried to get in touch at least 10 times. Oops.

K- "Would you believe that I bumped my communicator?"

Hannah, "Really Karen, again?"

Ky- "She's done that before?"

H- "A few times. She says that her phone was notorious for glitching like that while at college."

K- "Hey, can I help it if my gear likes to act like it's part Decepticon?"

R- "No, but I can blame you for disappearing before coming in for a check up. Come on."

With that, he took my arm hostage and dragged me towards the medbay. I gave a pleading look towards Hannah and Kyle but they gave me the 'you're on your own' look.

As soon as we made it to the medbay, Raf sat me down on one of the beds and began a physical.

"What's the rush?"

"We do have a senior staff meeting tonight. I want to able to bring a completed medical report on your well-being."

"And just why does it matter if you have a complete medical report for this meeting?"

"So we can all breath easier knowing that the game's glitches wouldn't have a negative effect on our brains."

"And having a couple complete exams proves that?"

He sighed and pinched his nose, "No, but it's a start. If there is any negative effects they will most likely show up later rather than sooner, but this will help."

"Ok, I guess I'm the guinea pig for everybody."

"Well, that is the job we signed up for."

He went over to his computer and started to put the data from the physical.

R- "You should jump Gameside and meet Kaylie in the medbay. If you hurry, there will be just enough time for her to finish another physical."

"Joy. I'll head over now. See you in the meeting."

He waved me away, still working on getting the data to transfer to the Gameside computers.

* * *

After getting into my VR pod, my consciousness slid over to over to my dreamscape. It was still same forested clearing with a pond, waterfall, and a cave hiding behind the waterfall. I quickly checked to see if the plants were showing signs of stress since Doc Raf/Ratchet was still worried about what yesterday's episode might have caused.

It was just only yesterday that I had a meltdown with the blasted app. It seemed like it only happened weeks ago. So much had happened these past two days and the day wasn't even over yet.

With that in mind, I set down the lighted fairy path to consciousness. Everything was starting up like normal, but my doorwings had to throw me for a loop.

 _There is a bot currently sitting on your couch._

I had locked my door before I logged off for the afternoon. How in the world did somebot get into my office?

I soon online my optics to find that Jazz was sitting patiently for me to wake up.

J- "Well good morning Sleeping Beauty."

Don't react! Slowly I unlock my frame so I could sit up straight.

P- "Jazz, what are you doing in my office?"

Jazz smiled and pulled a datapad out from his subspace, "Brawn stopped by your office saying you wanted this, but you weren't answering. So I told him that I would make sure you got it."

"That doesn't explain why you are in my office uninvited."

"Why Prowler, I'm hurt. I thought I was an honored guest."

Before I could tell him otherwise, he continued.

"I decided that this was an excellent opportunity to practice my lock picking technique. I knew that you wouldn't mind since you were in your office working. But low and behold, your frame was sitting here. Empty as an old snail shell. I wonder what the rest of the crew would think."

"Jazz, I'm required to leave this frame when my shift is done."

"You told me that instead of lying about what you were doing the entire afternoon."

"Jazz, I assume that you're part of the current betting pool with Smokescreen?"

"Maybe."

"I know so. Tell me: what would be the best kind of information you would need to win this bet?"

"Who everyone was."

He must know that I didn't feel like playing games, "If not that then when people log in and log off. From there, you can narrow down who is who. Are you that paranoid about people finding out who you are?"

"I would like to keep Gamelife and Real life separate."

"Ok, I can understand that. But you could have told me that. I wouldn't have told anyone."

"You would be that much closer to finding out who I am in real life."

I got up, took the datapad from him, and started to make my way out of MY office.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'm late for my medic's appointment."

Jazz had the good grace to leave the office so I could lock it.

"I'm going to figure out who you are."

Walk away. Just walk away. I'm going to have to talk Huffer into making a mailbox for my office so bots don't feel the need to give Jazz my paperwork. I'm also going to start using passwords I wouldn't normally use. And don't mention Where You and I Collide by Hearts of Eternity or Mine by AnziPanzi for that matter. Those will give him way too many ideas on how to really creep me out.

That was the last thing I needed. A crazy version of Jazz hunting me down in order to hack into my deepest darkest secrets. Shiver.

I glanced over Brawn's datapad and then walked into the medbay. First Aid was waiting for me.

F- "Hi, Prowl. You want to do this in the private exam rooms?" He/She seems to realize what he/she said. "Not like that, I just meant to prevent bots from walking in on your exam. It's a perfectly normal exam."

I held up my hand to prevent more stuttering, "A private exam room would be agreeable."

First Aid's face plates seem to give off heat, possibly the Cybertronian version of blushing and started off.

Once we were instead and the door was locked, Kaylie broke through her First Aid act while still carrying out the exam.

"Hannah says that you bumped your communicator again."

Groan, "Why does my stuff like to glitch out at the worst possible times? Not only did it happen to pick the worse song possible, it just happen to turn off notifications."

"What song?"

"You know about Kyle?"

"I know that you were working with him in the greenhouse today. Why?"

"Well, I was trying to not bring up a revelation I had about him just when my playlist switched from work music to Skillet."

"And that's bad, why?"

"The first song was about cutting!"

"Oh, ooohh! Yeah, I can see that being a problem. Was he mad?"

"Actually, no. He was kind of glad about the whole thing. If that song had never gone off, I would have tried to ignore the elephant in the room."

"So it was a good thing?"

"Yes. I think so." I really hope that I didn't step over my boundaries.

She laughed, "Well I would hope so, and you're good to go. I'll send the data over to Ratchet's datapad. I believe you can still make it in time for the meeting."

I thanked First Aid and hurried over to the meeting room. It was located right next to Optimus' office which probably meant that it had a side door to his office suite.

I walked to find that I wasn't the last one to the meeting. Besides my seat on Optimus' right, there were 3 vacant spots on the left side of the table. Jazz had his legs on the table on Optimus' left.

On the right side, there was Ratchet pouring over his datapad while Ironhide, in his classic red paint, was messing with his cannon. Red Alert was sitting next to Ironhide while Inferno was standing behind his right shoulder. Brawn was also there and sitting across from him was Huffer. The empty spots were between Huffer and Jazz.

I sat down just as Perceptor dragged in Wheeljack. Wheeljack was holding his helm like he still had a hangover from the night before, which was a good thing to know. If it was possible to bring over chemical imbalances in the brain over from Earthside, then it was possible to do the reverse.

After Perceptor had helped Wheeljack into his chair, he sat down. I guess the last seat was for Inferno, but Blaster came running with Steeljaw at his heels.

B- "Sorry I'm late."

After he settled in his chair with Steeljaw laying down in the background, Optimus called the meeting to order.

O- " Thank you all for coming. I know that this is only the second day for testing, but I feel that it would be prevalent to begin working out the command structure. Let's go around the table sharing what we've been working on so far. Jazz?"

Thank goodness he didn't start with me. I haven't really done anything at the moment.

J- "I've got the Special Ops Crew practicing their stealth techniques. We've had some datapads and simulators on spying so that helps. Don't be surprised if you find one of them in your office. I've told them that the senior staff offices were the best place to practice."

Red- "You're spying on us!"

J- "No, testing the security system. If a couple of newbies can get in, then the Cons can. We'll send you and Inferno a list of things needed to be upgraded."

Perceptor took that as his cue, "Sciences have begun going over the database. We won't be beginning any long-term experiments until we understand this world's physics. Once the main entrance is cleared, we plan on getting a base reading of the planet." He glances at Wheeljack. "Also, it appears that chemical imbalances in the brain get transferred between Real Life and here since this game is based on brain chemistry. I would recommend not drinking high grade or using medical coding until we know more."

We skipped Wheeljack and went straight to Blaster.

B- "I haven't had the chance to go over the communications station on the command deck yet. It appears that the comlink system is functioning perfectly. I'm going to have to go over the basics with Teletraan-1 since I'm not familiar with sort of thing. On a side note, Steeljaw woke up today. He's going to begin training with Jazz and his team. Also, he is going to be given free range when I'm logged off. The other cassettes should start waking up within the next 2 weeks."

Huffer glanced at Brawn, so Brawn jumped in for the both of them.

B- "We've started clearing the entrance and cataloging the supplies. We should be done by Monday next week."

Red Alert glared at Jazz, "Inferno and I have begun monitoring for strange activity. Jazz and his team are not helping."

I notice that Inferno was hiding a smile under his hand. He must have thought the whole things was hilarious.

Ironhide paused his tinkering, "I'm almost finished with the training schedule. Everybody will be coming in for gun safety. Prowl, you're not coming in till at least Friday. We don't want another relapse."

What did he just say?

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-Story): Deep thought pulls to a stop and the gals jump out. They help him unhitch so he could transform.**

 **D- " Good run gals. But was that ending ok?"**

 **A- "I think so. The next chapter will just have to start off where the meeting left off. *Turns to the readers* We'll see you guys next weekend. Hugs to all."**


	19. Ch18 Really?

**Author's Note (Mini-Story): Deep Thought walks over to where the girls were having a picnic.**

 **D- "You two ready to hit the tracks?"**

 **L- "Sure thing, just give us a sec."**

 **They quickly set up and before Allora jumped onto the train, she paused.**

 **A- "Oh, I'll be answering reviews for both last chapter and my drabble at the end of this chapter guys. Now let's see the end of that meeting."**

* * *

Ch. 18 Really?

I sat there, blinking furiously. Trying to compute what Ironhide had just said. How does gun safety equal me going into shock?

P- "I'm sorry. Could you restate that?"

Ironhide seemed to roll his optics like this was something he had to deal with a lot. I wonder what he did in the real world.

I- "I said that you're not coming in for gun safety until Friday."

"I'm perfectly applicable to come in for gun safety. I have had and completed a gun safety course Earthside."

I did way back in junior high when I wanted to go bow hunting with my Dad. I had to have a gun safety license first before getting an archery license. But, I never followed through with the archery because of school and stuff. I could still pull back a bow, but I wouldn't be able to group my shots very well.

It wouldn't hurt to get some target practice in, so why was Ironhide being difficult?

I- "You had some sort of helm injury right? *Reaching over Ratchet to poke me in the forehelm* When you get concussions, you don't play. *Sitting back in his chair* That's a rule that I'm never breaking."

Rule he will never break? Was he a part of football or something? Maybe a high school coach?

P- "I did not sustain a concussion yesterday. Therefore, I am capable of participating in the gun safety training."

Ironhide shook his helm, "I don't care. You got some sort of processor injury and I'm not letting you practice until you're cleared by both me and Rachet."

Rachet at this point was avoiding optic contact with everyone in the room by staring at the table. He still had his arms crossed over his chest but that was probably to hide his emotions.

Optimus must have turned to his focus to Ratchet cause I heard him speak up, "Ratchet, do you agree with Ironhide on this?"

R- "To an extent, yes."

Why are you acting like I'm sick? I'm perfectly fine, you even said so, I wanted to say, "Please explain."

Ratchet looked me straight in the optic, "I would have to tell them what happened yesterday."

Meaning he would have to break the patient-doctor confidentiality. I should probably save him the trouble.

P- "Yesterday, I activated an app while testing the training simulator. This app was made available within my processor after three practice drones stepped out of the wall. The app had the image of a Cybertronian kicking the air with the word Auto underneath. Once activated, my ability to feel and control my frame disappeared. All I could do was watch while I tore through the training drones. I was finally able to stop myself after 30 seconds. After that, I started going into shock and had to call for medical attention."

The look on Ratchet's face was almost worth it. Ironhide couldn't quite hold the gruff look anymore as his face morphed into pity.

Perceptor- "You went into shock?"

R- "Prowl had what is know as Acute Stress Reaction also known as Emotional Shock. Most people call this shock but it's not to be confused with Shock which is a circulatory reaction that is caused by severe bleeding or hypothermia. Emotional Shock is caused by extreme emotional events. It does cause the body to stuck down in the fight or flight response which could be life threatening if not treated. Patients who have had an Emotional Shock are more likely to have another episode in the future."

Wait! Another episode? I'm going to start glitching like Prowl whenever something doesn't make sense? I know that Prowl would and shut down whenever something wasn't logical in G1. But I didn't have that problem. At least, I didn't until yesterday. But was that really cause that situation was illogical?

Jazz must have had the same thought process, "You mean that Prowler's going to shut down like in G1? I thought that we didn't have to worry about that since whoever is playing him doesn't have that problem. At least, I don't think they did."

Ratchet pitched his olfactory sensor, "I don't know. We don't know what this game is capable of doing to our brains. Under normal circumstances, Prowl's player would have some risk but it would be treatable. Even with treatment, I would have no idea how this game would affect Prowl's player. Anything Transformers related could set them off."

Great, "I highly doubt that anything having to do with Transformers will cause another episode. If that was the case, I would have already had experienced another glitch."

R- "I agree, but anything to do with fighting might be what sets you off."

Ok then, new tactic. "Yesterday was an accident. No one knew that it was possible to lose control of these forms. Now that we are aware of the possibility, we are less likely to have that issue come up. I am now mentally prepared if it happens again. I'm less likely to go into shock because of it since I now know what will happen. Also, I'm not the Prowl of G1. I am my own mech. The rules that applied to G1 Prowl do not apply to me. That is also true for everyone in this room."

Out of the corner of my optic, I saw Huffer shift. He must have recalled the conversation we had that morning.

I- "I'm still not letting you into practice until Friday."

I had to force my wings to stay in their natural position, "There is no risk that training will cause me to go into shock again."

I- "Don't matter. Ratchet says there is a risk and I agree with him. I'm not going to be the one that allows you to have another attack."

Optimus decided that we had spent enough time arguing whether or not I should be allowed to train like everyone else, "I think it's time for Ratchet to go over his report."

R- "Everybot came in for check-ups yesterday. Everything seemed to be working fine. Had to fix a few bent bits, but that's expected. We are still not using any chemicals or coding for treatment since we don't how it will affect us in real life. You guys also know what's going on with Prowl's player since they felt like sharing with you. Right now, Firstaid and I are working at cataloging supplies with Huffer's help and learning the basic first aid techniques of the Cybertronian biology."

O- "Thank you Ratchet. Prowl?"

Still fuming on the inside, "Everyone should have a copy of the Vision Screen Menu 101. The document will be updated as the information becomes available. I am now capable of receiving a daily progress report on department projects, including the Wheeljack explosion reports. I will begin developing battle strategies against the Decepticons tomorrow and expect to have several completed by Friday."

O- "Thank you, Prowl. Now I believe that I've kept you all long enough. Go grab a cube and head back Earthside."

Everyone started to file out the door. Steeljaw got up from where he had been lying down to follow Blaster and Jazz out the door. I was just about to make my grand escape when.

O- "Prowl, if you could stay a moment longer. Could you please lock the door."

P- "Understood."

Steeljaw gave me a funny look, but let me close and lock the door behind him. I sat back down at the table since OP hadn't gotten up yet. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the tabletop while lacing his fingers together to rest his helm on them.

O- "Tell the truth, are you going to be ok."

Signing, I let my doorwings to sag. "Really I'm ok, OP. I just want to forget the whole thing ever happened. I feel fine and nothing feels like it has been affected by the episode. I just want to be treated like everyone else. I really don't get why Ratchet and Ironhide feel like I can't do the training like everyone else."

"They are just trying to look out for you."

"I know, but I'm not some damsel in distress. I can take care of myself thank you very much. If I need help, I'll ask."

"But this is a situation that is a high risk for you at the moment."

"It's high risk for everyone. It's probably best, that the accident happened to me since I will be able to handle it better than others."

I have no idea how Kyle would have taken it if that had happened to him. I don't know how anyone could have handled the situated better than I did.

"You really think that it's a low risk of you going into shock again?"

"Yes, if anything I'll be more conscious about it than Ironhide and Ratchet combined. I'm the type of person to go, at the speed limit on the highway so I highly doubt that I'm going to take unnecessary risks to my health."

"If you say so."

He got up and started for the door, so I followed suite.

"You think that you'll be ready for the transformation training next week."

I couldn't keep the smile off my face, "That is the one thing that I'm looking forward to this month."

He laughed, "Same here."

Him unlocking the door gave me enough time to put on my Prowl mask again. We both stepped out to find that Steeljaw had been waiting for us. He fell into step as we made our way to the mess hall.

It looked like that everybot was present for dinner that night. Groups forming based on a bot's job. Jazz and Blaster were with the spies while Perceptor and Wheeljack were with the scientists. Brawn had his building crew with him including Skyfire. I guess that he was hanging out with them until the door project was complete.

Rachet, Ironhide, inferno and Redalert had a table for their own and that was where Optimus headed after grabbing a cube. Hopefully, he could talk them into letting me train. The younger set of bots that didn't fall into any one group formed their own oddball group.

Huffer was the only one by himself. Possible waiting to see if I would join him or find another place to sit. I glanced down at Steeljaw. He didn't seem like he was in a hurry to join Blaster so that might mean that he wanted to hang out with me tonight too. Blaster did say that Steel would have free range during the day so that probably meant that when he didn't need to be by Blaster or training he could hang out with whomever, he chose.

P- "Steeljaw, would you like the same cube I made you this morning?"

He bobbed his helm.

P- "Would you also be willing to sitting with Huffer tonight?"

Again he bobbed his helm and started heading for Huffer's table. I quickly whipped up 2 hot chocolate mint cubes and went to join them. Jazz shot a funny look but hide it soon enough when he say that I was joining Huffer and Steel.

P- "Good evening Huffer."

"Hi, Prowl. I didn't think that you would sit with me tonight."

"Why would I break my promise?"

"I don't know. Second thoughts maybe."

He stared into his cube like he knew that was a silly idea.

"Are you really ok, Prowl? I know that you said that you would be fine in the meeting but…"

I let a sign out without letting my wings sag, "I'm fine. I don't see a reason for why people are acting like I'm going to be an invalid, though."

"We all know what happen to G1 Prowl when stuff like that happen."

"And I already said that I'm not him. Also thank you for building those medical chairs. I know that they will be helpful in the future."

"You're welcome. They wouldn't be done till Saturday at the earliest but that's cause I need to find the right fabric in the storage area. The chairs you commissioned will come after the medical ones."

"You're having trouble finding the right fabric?"

"Teletraan's memory from before the crash isn't there. I have to physically search and catalog the abandoned halls. I have found some neat stuff, but not the fabric that was used when your chair was created. It might be a rare type that could only be found on Cybertron. I did find something you might be interested in."

How would he know what I might be interested in?

"What did you find?"

"I think I found a Crystal House."

If anyone was paying attention to us at that moment, they would have seen my helm tilt to the right. "You mean like a Greenhouse? But for growing crystals?"

"Yay, I think so. I had crystal coming out of pots and beds of pebbles. It even had energon and another chemical spill all over the floor. It looked like there was some fire damage, so I don't know if anything is usable in there. I don't know if you like growing crystals like the cartoon Prowl, but it's worth checking out."

Cybertonian Crystal Growing. I could actually do that as a hobby Gameside. I could now use the datapad I found in my room on that subject. Ever since I learned you could grow something other than Borax crystals, I've alway wanted to try it. But I never had the right materials or time to grow my own Alum crystal. I wonder how different the Cybertronian method was from the Terran one.

"Is it possible for you to send me a map of where this Crystal House is?"

"Let me see."

His optics dimmed and in about 30 seconds I received an email. It said that it was Huffer. I tried to mentally open it but a warning popped up on my vision screen.

 _Warning, you don't currently have anti-malware or firewall coding installed. This is a high-risk document for viruses. Please install the proper safety measures._

How am I supposed to install an anti-malware or a firewall when we don't even know how to properly work our processors?

"It appears that it isn't possible to open the email until proper safety programs are installed. I wonder why my mass email didn't have the same message appear."

"Maybe it's cause your email didn't come from your personal coding, Prowl. Didn't you send it through Teletraan?"

"Indeed, I did."

"Well, maybe Teletraan had it scanned for viruses first then sent the it's clear message afterwards to our processors."

"That is logical."

Steeljaw nodded his helm in agreement to Huffer's statement, then return to his cube.

"If you're not busy tomorrow, I could show you where it is."

"I see not conflict with my current schedule(since Ironhide basically cleared it). I am free after breakfast."

Huffer grinned for the first time I think Gameside, "It's a date."

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-Story): Deep Thought pulls to a stop and the girls jump out to help him unhitch. Lancer goes over to the conveniently placed mailbox and pulls out a few letters.**

 **L- "Here's the mail gang. Let's take turns answering them."**

 **A- " This one is for Cybertronian Defense. Did the meeting out like you expected it to? I know it was a little different than what I thought would happen. Also great job on your new chapter."**

 **D- "This one is for Jazzilynn Hall. Yep everybot has to pick on poor Karen/Prowl, but that's what makes this story fun."**

 **L- "This one is for Giddy. Yay, it sure did look like Ironhide was being uncool. Also, I can't wait to see if any bot does start calling Mirage traitor since his is a player and have had the chance to spy for the Decepticons before the game."**

 **A- "This one is for Frostover317. Yep, Prowl gotz to be extra tricky. I also love those two fanfictions I mentioned in the last chapter, but that doesn't change the fact that Jazz is super creepy so happy my Jazz doesn't find out about them. ;) And now onto the A Toy Guardian reviews."**

 **L- "This is Giddy again, hugs for reviewing often btw. Yes, it was super cute seeing Prowl comfort a kid. why did you pick that story idea Allora?"**

 **A- "First thing to pop up in my head and I have my own toy guardians too. I figured that Peter needed some one on one time with his."**

 **D- "This is for SunnySides, welcome back. Allora and I were honored to pick up the pen for this contest. It was fun. Why don't you create an account? Allora had hers for a while before actually publishing something for the whole world. I had to push her to do it. You could even keep the guest name that you have been using for your username."**

 **A- "Ok and this last one is for TheSarcasticKnight. I love the new chapter, Aj, and Jazz all the way. I can't wait to see what others have created for your contest. I know that there are three others besides me and I'm cheering them on. Go Go Go! Hugs to all who review cauze you guys inspire writers to keep going. See you guys next time."**

 **D- "P.S. Allora's B-day is coming up this Wednesday(17th). I'm going to try to get her publish an extra chapter this week for the event."**


	20. Ch19 First Lessons

**Author's Note (Mini-Story): Lancer stealthed her way over to Allora's office car. She had to make sure that Allora was still asleep. She was.**

 **Lancer runs back to Deep Thought's engine, gives it a light tap, and jumps on. Slowly, Thought begins to set off. Allora can't wait up since Thought and Lancer have a surprise for her.**

* * *

Ch.19 First Lessons

Dinner Gameside went by relatively quick since we only had to drink our "food". Huffer finished before me and set off for his quarters to log off for the night. Steeljaw sat next to me till Blaster left for the night. He must have sensed through the bond that it was time for recharge.

Everyone was heading off for Earthside dinner, but me being a slowpoke stayed long enough to savor my drink. Jazz must have noticed this.

"Hey Prowler, mind if I join you?"

"Prowl and no."

Jazz sat with his halfway full cube. He probably told an epic tall in order to conserve his drink.

"How was your day, Prooowwwllller?"

Does he really need to give me that nickname? "Prowl, and it was adequate. How was your day?"

A grin grew on his face, "Adequate? Come on, it has to have been more than adequate, Prowler."

"Prowl and you're avoiding my inquiry."

"I'm not. I'm just not answering till you give me a better answer. I know that something must have happened. You and Huffer seemed to be getting along."

I wonder how childish it would look if I threw back the rest of my cube and left.

"There is nothing to share about my day."

"Keeping secrets, Prowler. That makes a real tempting target."

Nope, don't want that happening. "Prowl, and I just visited Brawn and Huffer today since they both are working on projects. Also, you broke into my office and we had an officer meeting. That is the some of my day. Now, how was yours?"

"But that's not all of your day. What did you do when you were offline?"

He took the slowest sip possible, trying to make it look menacing. It was working.

"It is none of your concern, good evening."

With that, I got up from my chair and finished my cube on the way out of the mess hall. I failed to ignore the sound of Jazz chuckling at my fleeing back.

* * *

I walked in the Earthside mess hall, to find that Hannah, Brandon, and Kyle were already sitting at the usual table. Hannah must have invited Kyle to join us tonight. Josh was with the Russians again, he must still be miffed at me.

I got my plate of grub and joined Hannah's table.

Kar- "Where's Kaylie and David?"

H- " I think Kaylie is finish something up

B- "And David texted that he was getting a check up before logging off today. Said something about getting his wrists checked. I think he strained them."

They appeared soon after that. Kaylie had to have gone through that exam quick in order for that to happen.

Kay- "So guys did you see Prowl at dinner tonight?"

Kyl- "Yeah, what about him?"

Kay- "He made the cutest head gesture while hanging out with Huffer. I wish I was Huffer, it must have been the best-confused look ever."

Don't laugh. Do not laugh. I burst into a giggle fit.

Brandon tilted his head the same way I had while as Prowl, "What so funny, Karen?"

I just pointed at Brandon, causing my giggles to turn to outright laughter. He looked exactly the way I must have Gameside.

H- "I think she's trying to say that you look just like Prowl right now with your head tilted that way."

D- "You don't happen to be Prowl, Brandon."

B- "I'm not Prowl. I wouldn't be able to pull off that straight poker face routine he's got down pat."

Kyl- "Well it can't be perfect. Look at Huffer, he was able to cause Prowl to break of character and tilt his head."

H- "True, I wonder who Prowl."

I got myself kind of under control and shrugged my shoulders, "Who knows. He could be one of the other players we don't hang out with that often."

H- "You're probably right, Karen."

B- "Well speaking of Prowl. Did you guys see how Steeljaw to be bond with Prowl today? I thought that Steel was only bonded to Blaster."

Kay- "Maybe he just likes Prowl. It's not like he can only hang out with the bot he is bonded with right?"

Kar- "It does make sense since Prowl and Jazz did try to help him out."

H- "Does anyone know if Steeljaw will be roaming the game while Blaster's player is offline? I would hate to be Steeljaw and have to wait for Blaster to online in order to move."

D- "I heard a rumor that Blaster is giving him free range as long as he checks in for bonding time. Whatever that is."

Kyl- "Maybe porting into Blaster's cassette tape hold?"

B- "Those guys did mostly hang out in there in G1."

D- "G1, great stuff. Oh, did you guys see the hangover Wheeljack had today."

Kay- "Yikes, that was bad. I feel really bad for his player. To have that hangover carry over Gameside. Ish."

D- "I wonder who got hammered the hardest last night. Does anyone remember some getting really wasted?"

Actually, I did. In fact, he came over and started talking to me about the ceiling being too low. Will as Wheeljack. It did make a small kind of sense since he was a chemist that dappled in invention making. Peter even said that his inventions hardly ever work right. Just like G1 Wheeljack.

Yawn, why am I so tired? "I think I'm going to turn in tonight. *And save Will's secret for later* Yesterday's party wiped out my energy. Do you guys want me to look up Micronus in my Convent to see if it reference's what his frame type's name is? I know we couldn't decide over lunch."

B- "That will be cool."

H- "Are you and Kyle still helping me out in the Greenhouse tomorrow afternoon."

Kar- "I'm still free."

Kyl- "Same here."

H- "Cool."

Kar- "K, night."

I made my escape before my goodbyes turned into the Minnesota variety. The kind that takes two hours to leave after actually saying goodbye. It always happened at holidays and church.

It was still relatively early, around 6:45ish, but I just wanted some alone time before bed.

I made good time getting to my room and pulled out my Autobrand shield. turning on the batteries, I started pulling the chin piece down to unlock it.

Gigigogo.

That was so much fun to do.

Moving the left eye area and brow to the right.

Gigigogo

And now the nose piece with the right eye area to the left.

Gigigogo.

Sitting in the center was my copy of the Covenant of Primus. It had been a B-day gift from my family. They all had pooled the money Dad had put aside for gift shopping for my birthday, in order to buy it for me.

 _We were certainly sitting at Kobe's a Japanese steakhouse that we had started going to because our favorite chef from Mt. Fuji had taken on a job there. That and the prices were a wee bit better._

 _We had finished our meal when the sound of a drum started up._

" _Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday dear Emma. Happy Birthday to you."_

 _A chief and some of the waiters had come over with a fried ice cream dessert with a candle in it. I blew out the candle and had my head stuck into a paper mache headpiece for a photo. You couldn't have a Birthday at Kobe's._

 _Kar- "Do you guys want a piece?"_

 _Dad- "You ahead and eat it."_

 _The boys- "No thanks."_

 _Mom- "I'll have a spoonful."_

 _I gave her a spoon and we finished off the ice cream before it could melt._

 _Dad pulled out a box that was long and thin. "This is from all of us."_

 _A new laptop? I already had a laptop. Sure it was starting to run a little slow but I didn't need a new one._

 _I began to open the box, but when I say a piece of the Autobrand, I couldn't help but start chanting 'No way. No way. No way."_

 _Squeal, "Thank you all. This is perfect. Just what I need for research."_

 _I went around the table giving hugs. On the way home that night, all I could think about was my shiny new book._

I took out the book and started to slowly turn the pages. Looking for Micronus' picture, that would show his chest plates.

Of course, I let myself get distracted by my favorite Prime, Onyx. The Prime of Nature. He was basically a winged, lion-maned centar. The Prime holding the Triptych Mask. The mask of three faces. His ability to understand others was what it possible for him to be a friend to all of his siblings. He had super close ties with Solus, the Maker. Micronus, the Consciousness. And 13, the Spirit. The other Primes that I would want to identify with.

All of the Primes had qualities that I would like to see in myself. But if I had to pick on of the Primes to be my Primary Prime, it would most likely be Onyx. He just awesome. Just an all around great Prime.

Ok, focus Karen. You need to find the right image of Micronus. I know that there is a pic of him somewhere showing… There it is.

On page 32, in the upper right-hand corner was an image of Micronus curled up into a little ball of a lotus position. A ball of green energy surrounding him. It was an image of him preparing to share his energy with his siblings in the great battle. It also happens to be the image that had the perfect shot of his chest plates.

They had a very distinct shape outlined. the same shape that was used for the frame class found in Transformers Armada. The Minicon M.

Micronus was what I would call a micro-minicon. The first of his frame type. The minicons and bots of G1 were probably the taller descents of Micronus' frame class. Them gaining height by losing the ability to powerlink with their Cybertronian brothers.

The Cassetticons/bots were probably another frame type descended from the micro-mini con class. The Cassetticons still lost the ability to powerlink and grew in stature. But the kept the ability to form strong bonds with a certain frame type in order share things mentally. They also must have gained the subclasses of bipedal and bestial. The bipedal from Micronus himself and the bestial from Micromus' close ties to his brother Onyx.

I wonder how Micronus would feel to know that his frame type's name had changed to mean bots that were smaller than average that also had sided with the Decepticons.

I pulled out my communicator, took a snap of Micronus' image, and sent it along with my theory of small frame type adaption over the centuries to my friends. I got replies almost instantly.

 _Hannah- Cool. Really neat theory. I can totally see that happening with the Golden Age being so difficult for bots of a weird frame type. Good going._

 _David- That explains some things._

 _Kaylie- That's really good to know. Is it alright if I pass this onto Blaster and Steeljaw? I think that they would want to know this._

 _Kyle- I wonder how many other frame types were based on the other Primes._

 _Brandon- Ok, I get your reasoning now. But I will always call Micronus a Minibot._

 _Josh being out of the loop didn't get the email._

 _Josh- What is this all about? Do you think I'm a Minibot, Blaster, or what?_

I quickly emailed Josh the discussion he had missed by hanging out with the Russians. I also sent Kaylie another text.

 _Kaylie,_

 _You can share this with Blaster and Steeljaw. But please don't tell them that I came up with the theory. And be sure to remind them that it's a theory._

 _Thanks,_

 _Karen_

I got replies saying thank you from both Kaylie and Josh. With my smarty pants duties done for the day, I figured that it was about time that I start getting ready for bed.

With the only thing, I needed to take care being brushing my teeth and turning off the main light. I found myself in bed within 5 minutes. I put my glasses on the nightstand as I was grabbing my tablet. With me being nearsighted, I didn't need glasses in order to read before bed.

Which one should I read tonight? I could study up on Crystal growing techniques since I'll be looking at the Crystalhouse with Huffer tomorrow. Or I can be reading my Cyberninja training since Ironhide had stalled my normal training.

I totally get Ratchet's and his concern about causing another Acute Stress Reaction, but I have never had anything close to it. Not even a fainting episode, in my life. But safety first.

Turning on my tablet, I pulled up Yoketron's handbook.

 _Welcome back, my student. It brings me great joy to know that you have decided to continue your training in the Cyber-ninja acts. One never truly becomes a master of the art. He is always a student, allowing life to continually teach many lessons._

 _Not all the lessons life sends us are sweet. Many of them leave a bitter taste in our mouths for they are the taste of anger, sorrow, grief, regret, greed and resentment. You must not dwell on these tastes but what was accompanying them._

 _Primus gave us free will and life was meant to shape as to the Bot that he truly wishes us to be. But that is only if you bear his teachings in mind. We are all created equal in his eyes. We may come from different backgrounds, but that doesn't change how much he loves us._

 _We must learn our own lessons and cannot ask others to have the lessons for us. We can learn by example but that doesn't change that we ultimately need to learn them._

 _Some will have to struggle with poverty and physical pain. Others can have great wealth while also having great emotional pain. All are great in their own right, but we cannot judge others struggles based solely on our own. What is easy for one is not for another. All we can do is be there for those who need support in their hour of need._

 _Today, search for what life is giving you. What is a lesson that can be learned? Are you struggling? Search for support. Is another struggling? Be their support. Even if it's just being a willing ear. Your support could mean the world for them._

Wow. Really deep right there. But since this book supposed to be about learning how to kick properly or something?

I went to the next page.

 _ **This text isn't just about learning to kick properly, my student. The Cyber-ninja acts is more than the forms. It is a way of life.**_

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-Story): Deep Thought pulls to a stop and Allora jumps out of her office.**

 **A- "What in the..."**

 **D &L- "Surprise! Happy Birthday."**

 **Set out before Allora was a scene from a movie. A picnic table set up with a birthday cake on ice cream. Balloons tied to the legs. Another table held presents and letters. Lancer put B-Day crown on top of Allora's head.**

 **L- "What do you think?"**

 **A- "This is great guys thanks."**

 **D- "It was fun to set up. Why don't you answer some reviews."**

 **A- "Ok, this first one is for my drabble from HeartsGuardianSoul. Thanks, I thought so too and kuddos to you.**

 **Now these nest three are for this story. Giddy, I love writing these environments. Mostly cause it's fun seeing how you guys react to them. I also agree about being cautious when it comes to the game vs player's health. But that doesn't change that some people will still try to get themselves into trouble. Like Wheeljack.**

 **Ok, now Mindmaze. Yep, I love character development and interaction chapters. They give so much room to run rampant in. I can't wait to see how Blaster's and Steeljaw relationship will turn out.**

 **And last, but not least, CybertronianDefense. The meeting was a surprise for me too. I don't know what Karen is thinking quit yet. Thought hasn't told me yet."**

 **D- "I'm not telling till next time. *Turns to Readers* Also, the ending of the chapter isn't meant to put down any type of hardship or say that one is worse than the other. It's just saying that everyone has their own personal struggles and we need to be there for one another. Show someone you care by being there."**

 **L- "Now let's party."**

 **They gang start's partying to fun music. Deep Thought making the ground shake.**

 **A- "What a great way to spend a Birthday. Hanging out with friends and doing what I love. Hugs to all. And a Fun Fact about me. It takes 7minutes 17secondss 29something (microseconds?) to get to the bottom of my Transformers Pinterest Board that is over 5300 pics long.**


	21. Ch20 Crystals

**Author's Note (Mini-Story): The gang was finishing cleaning up the party.**

 **D- "Did you have fun Allora?"**

 **A- "Sure did. I can't wait to find what happens in this chapter."**

 **L- "Then let's get going."**

* * *

Ch.20 Crystals

I woke this morning without any dreams that I could recall. Not sure when exactly I fell asleep, but I must have gotten at least 8 hours of it.

Today, I got to see the Crystalhouse with Huffer. Yeah! Day 3 of Gaming and I get to check out crystals.

After being freaked out by Yoketron's guidebook, I figured it would be better to read up on Cybertronian Crystal growing. I had only just gotten to the different ways crystals are viewed on other worlds before conking out.

Going through my morning routine, all I could think about was what I had read last night in the crystal growing book.

 _The art of crystal growing this is not something unique to our world. There are many documented organic worlds of advanced civilization where crystal growing has become anything from between a hobby to a religion._

 _On the water filled world of Aquarius, there are crystallin caverns that are tended by priests. The caves must be protected from temperature changes in the water. Otherwise, the salt( formed by ionic element bonding)based gems would dissolve and the edges rounded. The caverns are considered places of healing and meditation._

 _In one of these caverns is a rare gem that can facilitate breathing underwater. The gems are known to absorb the oxygen surrounding it. The oxygen could then be released when heat is supplied. Aquiriens would only give these Aquaman Crystals , best translation meaning water being crystal, to valued allies since the crystals are hard to harvest._

 _On the planet of Junk, it is rare for a clear crystal to develop because of the planet's acidic atmosphere. The Junkiens highly value clear crystals, so it is common for trading parties from other planets to offer a crystal while saying the Universal Greeting._

 _One plant is completely made up of compound crystals. The being of this world of rightly named it, Crystal. The beings of this world don't see any value in crystals since they don't offer anything useful to everyday life._

 _Crystallans have a symbiotic relationship with chlorophyll-producing microbe in order to gain energy from their sun. They also live off of the molds and fungus that grow on the crystals. Their way of living is simple and plain, so traders often come with rare foods for the Crystallans in hopes of being allowed to chip a piece of rare gem off the planet._

 _Most organic worlds view crystals as rare commodities that have to be brought up from under their planet's soil. Often placing the gems in a rare metal holding for sacred places and everyday adornment. Some of these planets have developed means to replicate natural crystal formation with the help of pressure simulation._

 _They also have the hobby of growing salt based crystals in containers filled with salt supersaturated water with a seed crystal suspended on a string. The seed crystal is formed for the same salt within the water and allows the formation of more crystal on it when the saturation(amount of material dissolved in water) levels become too much for the water to hold._

 _The fabled race of Quintessons, the race that supposedly conquered our world before dying off, was rumored to view crystals for their electronic value. According to legend, they had machines capable of things that are considered impossible. And these machines only function by using crystals that had the ability to carry electric current and other concentrated forms of energy._

I wonder if Huffer would be interested in what I read last night. And how to invite Hannah with us this morning? It would be impossible to invite Hannah without revealing that I was either Huffer or Prowl. Maybe I can convince Huffer to invite Hound Gameside.

I had finally made it to the mess hall. Grabbing a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios, I sat down at the usual table. Others started to filter into the room, grabbing something from the hot food line or a bowl of cereal. Kyle soon joined me.

Kyl- "When did you and Hannah want the aquaponic system to be ready again?"

Kar- "Next week. Hopefully by Monday. Hannah said yesterday that the fish could be coming in on Tuesday."

Kyl- "Are you willing to pull an all-nighter? With the half days, the system wouldn't be done till Friday next week."

Groan, "I was afraid of that. I do have a graveyard shift tomorrow. I could work on the system during the day and force myself to stay awake Gameside."

Kyl- "Would you be able to work on it alone? So far it's taken a few sets of hand."

Kar- "No idea. Maybe if we can hammer out a good part of it this afternoon, all I would have to worry about is testing the system. That is the bit that will take to longest. We don't want something to go wrong when the fish arrive."

Hannah walked up right then, "You two talking about the fish?"

Kyl- "Yes, we're trying to figure out if it's even possible to finish it by Monday. Karen says that she can work all day tomorrow since she has a graveyard shift tomorrow night."

H- "When are you planning on sleeping?"

Kar- "I have an afternoon shift Friday, so I can sleep in the morning."

H- "Would you be up for a sleepover then?"

Kar- "Friday?"

H- "Yeah, Kaylie said that Emily wanted to get the gals together Friday night. She could tell you more about it."

Kay- "I could tell Karen about what?"

Kyl- "The sleeper for the girls. *Gets up from his chair* I'll see you guys later. I've got stuff to finish up."

The girls- "See you later."

Once Kyle had left I turned back to Kaylie, "Sleepover?"

Kay- "Yeah, Emily is setting it up. She found out that you could sign out the Lounge for events so the cleaner drones don't clean up before the event is over. She thinks it will be fun to have all the girls over for a party Friday. You want to come?"

Kar- "Am I invited?"

H- "Emily said that all the girls are invited. She just hasn't had the time to send out emails yet because of training with Ironhide. Something about living up to her character."

"Oh," I wonder who she could be. Do I even remember what she looks like? I'll probably remember when I run into her.

Kar- "I'd like to come. It sounds fun. Plus it gives us a chance to know the other players better."

"You're not trying to figure who people play as, are you," Kaylie asked with a fake look of surprise on her face. She didn't have to guess since she already knew who was who.

"Nooo."

Since I was done with my bowl, I got up to head Gameside. Huffer would probably be logging in soon. Can't keep him waiting for Prowl.

"Bye guys."

H and Kay- "Bye."

I wave to David and Brandon as I passed them out the door. They waved back before going back into a heated whispered discussion. I hope that they weren't planning on any pranks.

* * *

I figured it would be best to head straight to the medbay before getting a cube this morning. Not bothering to know, I just walked straight into the bay and plopped myself onto the nearest berth to where Ratchet was currently working.

"Good morning, Ratchet."

"Morning."

He got straight to the exam. He probably hadn't had a cube yet either. With him being busy with the scanner, it was the best time to ask my question.

Is there any chance of me getting some training done before Friday? And how long do I have to come in every day? I do recall you saying that I would only have to come in once a week after the game started."

He ignored the first question, "That was before you got zapped by that app. If you're still fine next Friday, this can be a twice a week thing."

"Twice a week?"

"Yes, I don't care if you don't think it's necessary. I'll hunt you down if I have to."

"I'll be good. You don't have to hunt me down."

"Hmmph, You're free to go now."

I got up but paused because I remembered something. "Hey, Ratchet?"

"What?"

"DO you know how to download anti-virus software and anti-malware? Yesterday, I found out that I didn't have any."

"I'll look into it. Now get."

I left him typing in the new data into his computer.

* * *

Huffer was waiting outside the Mess Hall when I arrived.

"Good morning, Prowl. You finished an exam with Ratchet?"

"Yes. Did you already finish your cube this morning?"

"Sure did. I can wait for you. It's not like the place is going to be going anywhere anytime soon."

"I'll be quick."

There were some bots working on their morning cubes but the two that interested me the most were Blaster and Steeljaw. They were currently what looked like a silent conversation, were empty cubes forgotten. Blaster would wave his hands around like he was describing something, then share optic contact for a few moments before another set of hand waving.

Were they talking over the bond? Or was it over the comlinks? Did Steel even have a comlink yet?

While mixing my drink, I checked my comlink to find that Steeljaw's name had been added to the list. Cool, I could be able to hear what Steel way trying to say. But does he have to have his communicator on 24/7? That might be annoying. I'll just talk to him the same and if he feels the need to start a comlink, he will.

I grabbed my cube and sipped it as I made my way out of the room. Steeljaw noticed, shared a glance with Blaster. Blaster gave him a nod before Steel jumped down from the

table and joined me.

H- "You ready to go?"

P- "Yes. Is it alright if Steeljaw joins us?"

H- "You want to come with Steel? We're visiting a Crystalhouse I found yesterday."

Steel nodded his helm.

"You guys found a Crystalhouse?"

Perfect timing, it was Hound. And there was Mirage too. Great, I really hope that he isn't still miffed at me.

P- "Good morning Hound, Mirage. Huffer told me about a Crystalhouse he found yesterday and is about to show Steeljaw and me where it is."

Hu- "Umm… Would you two like to come? We can wait."

M- "I'm sorry but we have important things to do this morning. Like training. Good day."

Woooww, did he really have to rub my face plates into the fact that I couldn't train yet.

Hound lingered, "Sorry about that. He's a little ornery this morning. Is it alright if I track you down later Huffer. I would love to check it out."

Hu- "Sure."

Ho- "Thanks. Bye guys."

* * *

The trek to the Crystalhouse was longer than I expected. Path turning into a maze because of all of the cave in from the crash. The was one room that had a pool of an electrified liquid that we had to skirt around. Huffer was confident on where we were going, but why in the world would he go this deep exploring? It felt like we were nearing the other side of the ship.

From what little exploring I had done yesterday, it was probably that the port (Left) side of the ship had hit a side of a mountain. Since most of the command area seemed to be on the starboard(right) side of the ship, the wasn't an issue for the upcoming battles. But the exploration and scientific side of the ship appeared to be the port side, and that caused issues when trying to turn about the physics of this game.

Huffer stopped in front of a closed door, "Just to forewarn you, it looks it a mess in there. But it probably has stuff you'll interested in. Who knows, we could have the placed fixed."

The door creaked open. The sight too beautiful and saddening at the same time. The shelves that once contained crystals, mineral gravel, and chemical energon baths were tipped over and broken. Their contents spilled across the floor. The less resilient crystals had shattered, leaving a glittering river behind. There were burnt and melted spots were the wrong chemicals had come into contact with each other, causing a chain reaction.

Most of the energon had faded to a dull glow. Most of the crystals didn't give off the glow that they should have had from being exposed to energon. But some of the crystal fragments must have landed in the right puddles. They were glowing and new growth seemed to be growing on them. The light from the emergency lights and the glowing seed crystals made the room glow an eerie mix of purple.

"What do you think, Prowl? Can this be fixed?"

"It is possible, but the cleanup of the chemicals would make the process difficult. But it might be necessary to have the room restored, I have read that some of the crystals that should be present are vital for medical purposes. I find it unlikely that we can find the same crystal formation on this plant since most of the crystal originated on Cybertron."

"Where did you read that?"

"I own a copy of Praxian Gardens. It is very informative of the subject of Crystal growing."

He laughed, "It figures that your character would have a copy of that. How do you want to go about cleaning this up."

"I'll take a scan of this to Sciences. they may have a solution that should neutralize the compounds present. After the spills are cleaned, we would have to sort the crystals. We would need to find the correct pure types and find the best seeds to begin production again. We would also have to examine the natural crosses to find their properties."

"That sounds good, but we don't have a scanner."

"My doorwings should be sufficient."

Bring up my doorwing sensory information, I increased the input to a 100 percent. Perceptor and Wheeljack would need the best data available for this project. Just before coming fully online, I locked my joints to keep from keeling over.

The room has a variety of elements present. Many of the compounds are unstable and will explode if brought together. Broken wiring and plumbing. A variety of common and rare crystals are present.

Download the information about this room into an extra fold for transfer to Teletraan-1

Saving… Huffer and Steeljaw are currently tense and watching you closely. Information saved.

Return doorwings to normal functions. As my doorwings returned to normal, Steel's melted from relief. Huffer didn't relax until I shifted my fingers to show that I was back.

"You ok?"

"I'm fine, I have the information needed for Sciences." I wish that I reach that diamond over there.

Before we could leave, Steel leaped.

"Steeljaw!"

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-Story): Deep Thought pulls to a stop and the girls jump out.**

 **L- "You really can't resist. Can you?"**

 **A- "Sorry, Thought and I love cliffhangers."**

 **Allora runs up to a mailbox, "Mail time.**

 **Ok, first up CybertronianDefense. When you say Game Theory do you mean "the branch of mathematics concerned with the analysis of strategies for dealing with competitive situations where the outcome of a participant's choice of action depends critically on the actions of other participants. Game theory has been applied to contexts in war, business, and biology."(google definition)? Wow. I didn't know that was a thing. Cool, you taught me something new.**

 **Adelphe24, thanks and now I'm curious. What was the question?**

 **OfLifeDeathAndBetween, glad you love this story and cool username. Why'd you pick it?**

 **Mindmaze, Yes Karen was awesome. I love Jazz's interactions and I really wanted Prowl to tease him to but Thought told me that it was too early for that sort of thing. Cyber-ninja arts are cannon in the Animated Universe of Transformers. Yoketron was Prowl's mentor in that series. But the bit that about life lessons and being there for others was my own personal thoughts.**

 **Guest1610 and Guest, don't ever think that about your work. You will never know unless you try.**

 **Ok and here's a note about this chapter since guys might be curious. The planet names used at** cannon **and in G1 Rodimus gives Wreckgar a crystal while saying the universal greeting. The names for the planets come from a map of the milky way that Cosmos made in the Allspark Almanac. It a great resource full of fun easter eggs. See you guys next time**."


	22. Ch21 Game Strategy

**Author's Note (Mini-Story): Deep Thought walks over to the gals.**

 **D- "You two ready to go yet?"**

 **A- "All most. I've sent replies to CybertronianDefense, Jazzilynn Hall, and adelphe24 via PM. And now a word for Giddy. *Clears throat* It's ok that you missed a chapter for review. Still love you. Yes, Prowl's wings are awesome. Don't know how the sleepover is going to affect the game till it happens. Does DT= cliffhanger cause it looks like the T is hanging off the D. I really don't know text lingo. But that would be funny to have a cliffhanger with Cliffhanger! I'll keep that it mind."**

 **L- "Now we are ready."**

 **Deep Thought and the gals got set and off they went.**

* * *

Ch. 21 Game Strategy

Both Huffer and I shouted. Both reaching for Steel. But by the time of our reaction, it was too late to grab Steel safely. If we had reached him, he would have landed snout first into the chemical bath. It was a good thing that we didn't reach him.

Steeljaw's frame stretched, aiming for the one island of clean floor in a sea of chemicals. His solar pellet gun barrels slipped into nothing. Leaving the solar cell wings at a 90-degree angle to his frame.

He was gliding. Somehow, he was able to hold his Solar-Powered Pellet Guns in between here and subspace. Creating the extra lift he needed to make it safely landed daintily and picked up the diamond fragment from the other smaller island of floor.

With the diamond clamped firmly in his maw, he returned his wings to their normal position. He coiled like a spring and leaped. Again, the barrels of his guns disappeared. Leaving the wings at the perfect angle for gliding.

I let out a vent of air as Steel landed again. Huffer echoed me while putting his outstretched hand to his chest plates. Steel optics gleamed as he sat down.

H- "Don't go scaring us Steel."

Steel ducked his helm slightly. I crouched so I was optic level with him again.

P- "Why did you do something that reckless?"

Steel simply came closer and motion towards my hand. I reached out and he placed the diamond into it.

P- "Is this yesterday?"

He nodded.

P- "Thank you, but think before you leap in the future. How were you able to do that? Instinct?"

He nodded again then paused. His helm cocked as if listening to something. His focus soon returned to me.

P- "You're supposed to begin training now?"

He gave both Huffer and I a farewell nod and bounded off.

Huffer snorted.

P- "What?"

H- "Nothing. Just funny is all. Kind of cute, though."

As I was getting up from my crouch, I spotted an unopened bag of graphite gravel. I slipped it and the crystal into my subspace. What did my hand brush against? Gently I grabbed the foreign object just as I was finishing getting up.

H- "What's that?"

"A magazine cartridge, with acid pellets." How did those… Oh! I put my gun and magazines into my subspace yesterday. I must have forgotten to put them away last night. Opps.

H- "What are you carrying that around for?"

"I thought that I could get some target practice in today."

"Aren't you grounded or something?"

"How did you know?"

"Ratchet and Ironhide. They told us to make sure that you didn't try to sneak off this morning."

"I'm not going to break a medical order."

"Then why do you have that in your subspace?"

"I placed it there yesterday. Now we should be heading back."

Walking next to me, "Yesterday? You logged out with those still in your subspace?"

"Yes. It's impossible for anything to happen while they are in there."

"But still, in your subspace. Don't tell my that you have your rifle hiding in there as well."

"..."

"You're kidding!"

"Would I kid?"

"Aurg, I don't know. Probably not."

"There's your answer."

Boom!

The hallway rattled and shook. Huffer stumbled into my legs causing my wings to flare out to counter balance. After a moment, the mini-quake ended, and the emergency siren along with flashing lights started up. A mass comlink from Perceptor appeared.

Per- "My apologies everyone. I informed Wheeljack that he shouldn't mix Sodium metal with energon. Our drinking energon has a higher content of water then pure or high-grade energon. Wheeljack got blasted into one of the walls and the container for the mixture is now shrapnel. Wheeljack is functional but will need to see Ratchet. That is all."

The comlink ended but the sirens were still going off. I commed Redalert.

P- "Redalert, disable the alarms."

R- "But…"

 _P- "The Decepticons are not attacking. It was just Wheeljack. Please, turn off the alarms."_

The alarms quieted and Huffer stumbled back from me.

H- "Sorry about that Prowl."

P- "There's nothing to forgive."

Another comlink form Preceptor, this time just for me.

Per- "Would you like me to send you a report on this incident?"

 _P- "Yes, drop it off at my office before logging out today."_

Per- "Understood."

Starting off for the lighted section of the base, "Huffer. I have another request. Two actually."

"I still have to get the chairs both you and Ratchet commissioned done first."

"One of the requests is more pressing than the chairs. Brawn asked for a Ground Penetrating Sonar. Have you come across one in the supplies?"

"Yeah, I did. I guess that's easy enough. What's your second request?'

"To install a mailbox for my office."

"A what?"

"A mailbox. Preferably one that can scan for hazard items before allowing datapads and packages to enter."

"What in the blazes do you need that for? And how am I supposed to make that?"

"It's more efficient to have a place for bots to drop off documents when I'm offline, instead of having them give sensitive material to Jazz." Plus it takes away Jazz's excuse to break into my office.

"Again, how am I supposed to make this magic mailbox?"

"I would seek Preceptor's advice."

"Fine."

"Thank you. I'll see you at the end of the day."

With that, we parted ways. Me for my office. Huffer mumbling to himself and heading off to get the radar for Brawn. I think I heard something along the lines of 'goofy tactician'.

* * *

When I made it back to my office and locked it, it was around 9:45 so I had a little over two hours to get stuff done before logging out. That included visiting the medbay and I still had Brawn's report from yesterday.

I pulled everything out of my subspace. Just how much stuff did I forget to put away last night? Let's see one rifle, 2 pellet magazines, Brawn's report, my copies of Praxian Gardens and Cyber-ninja Arts, and the diamond and gravel I got this morning. Well, aren't I a little pack rat?

I wonder if I could set a reminder to put my subspace stuff away when I'm about to log out. Hmm…

Thought speaking to myself, _Set a reminder to take care of subspace when about to log out._

 _Reminder set._

Cool beans. I sent everything but Brawn's report into subspace. I set the report to the side and onlined my computer. Now, how to download a folder in my helm to the computer?

Pulling up the computer's file explorer, I searched download from the processor. Nothing…

Great, how am I supposed to do this? Go into my Dreamscape?

Locking my joints, I relaxed to the point where I could see my fairy light trail to the forest. Following it, the familiar scene of the clearing soon came into view. I stepped over to the small pool that formed at the base of the waterfall.

I crouched to see my human face staring back at me. With a small smile on my face, I tapped the calm surface.

"How do I copy files in this processor to the base computers?"

As the ripples lessened, an image formed on the water's surface.

 _I was walking in the forest, coming up to a large white oak. A branch with an acorn was within arms reach. My reflection picked it, causing the nut to turn into a glowing ball of code. The image shifted to my office. Prowl held a double ended USB cable in his hand. He connected one end to the computer and the other to a hidden port in his wrist guard. A ghost image of the data-ball traveled from Prowl's processor to the cable and then settling in the computer. On the screen of the computer, and acorn was planted and began to sprout._

Wow, and that does make a lot of sense. Getting up, I mentally imagined the fairy path changing direction to show where the tree that represented my scan of the Crystalhouse was. The path shifted to now point farther into the forest.

Following the path, I soon found the tree and picked the nut. With the now glowing data-ball, I travel back into consciousness. My vision screen said that the folder was ready for transfer.

I quickly searched the desk drawers for the cable I wanted and plugged it into the computer. Now for the hard part, how am I supposed to get access to my USB port it my guard is in the way? In the pool image, the guard transformed out of the way.

Peering at my left wrist guard I could see the a seam down the center where it should transform, allowing access to the port in question. Now how to get it opened?

Imagining it transforming wasn't working. Am I to physically force it to transform? It's not like I can feel the plates covering my wrist. It's like your toes, you can't feel them unless you wiggle them or have them brush up against something. Hmmm…

I brought my left wrist up to my face plates and gently blew a gust of air over it. A ripple traveled up from my protoform, causing the plates to shift slightly. That felt like goosebumps. But it wasn't the armor that felt the gust, but the protoform underneath.

Again, I blew a gust of air over the armor plates, and again the protoform underneath shivered from the wind. There are a series of connections between the protoform and the armor plates. I can feel them.

This time, I imagined the tiny strands of cable pushing up on the plates and pulling them to the side. As I was imaging it, I could feel the muscle ripple underneath. First pushing up on the seam where the plates connected, and then pulling the angled plates to the sides.

There was the USB port. Quickly, before I could accidently close the armor plates, I plugged in the USB. A few words appeared on both my computer and my vision screen.

 _Would you like to transfer folder Copy_Crystalgarden Scan?_

Yes.

The copy of the folder disappeared from my vision and a new window popped up on my computer. It was a blue loading bar. It said that it would take an hour and a half. Great.

Setting in for the long wait, I onlined Brawn's report and started reading.

* * *

 _Download complete_

Finally.

With great glee, I disconnected myself from my computer and stretched.

While I had been waiting for the load to finish, I finished Brawn's report. It wasn't that long really, so I had pulled up another window on my computer and turned on one of the strategy games.

The game's point was to get a team behind enemy lines in order to retrieve a small flag. I had a god-like view of the board and could see everything that was going on. I had a small army of characters, oddly enough 30 total and set having their own personal color dot, that I could split up anyway I wished. I could then decide where I wanted the groups based on where the CGPs, computer generated players, where.

The first level started off with one enemy, but each that I completed another enemy would appear on the next level. Soon I had over 10 enemy characters of various strength, forcing me to juggle which characters were fighting multiple enemies and which would try for the flag.

Some of my characters weren't strong enough to fight the enemy. But if I put certain characters together, they would have a boost compared to the putting them with the same level characters.

One character, a black dot with a red spot in the center, had to either say at the very back of everyone or be protected by other characters whenever on the field. For some odd reason, whenever that dot died the game ended. Even if I managed to get another group to the flag.

Me being the perfectionist that I am when it comes to games, I strove to get a perfect three stars for each level before tackling the next one. But the only way to get three stars was to make sure that all of the characters survived the battles. Which was really hard, even when I knew the right strategy to use.

It was like the game was adapting based on my level.

But with the download complete beeped at me, I figured that now was a good time to take a break. And possibly write down the stuff I learned while playing the game on one of my blake datapads.

 _Red dot and Yellow dot get a huge power boost when together. Tend to stray from the path I set. If one is in danger of dying, the other will break from whatever and try to save the other. If one dies, the other will get a major boost but may attack friendlies if in the way._

What a second, that sounds a lot like the Terror Twins. If Red and Yellow are supposed to be Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, does that mean I'm Black with red center?

Shouldn't the game end when other officers die too? Like OP's dot, half blue and red, when it dies the game should end right? So does the game end cause the tactician of the game is dead? Weird.

With that in mind, I started listing the dots as the characters I believed that they were representing.

 _Cosmos, green dot with yellow speckles, is really weak but good with flanking maneuvers._

 _Ironhide, red dot with black strip, a possible Bayverse reference? A great heavy hitter. Works best by defending others._

 _Ratchet, white with red cross, can take hits but does deal that much damage. Works as a temporary shield till more help can arrive. Possible healer in later levels of the game when I get better at this. Works best with Firstaid, red dot with white cross._

 _Jazz, half black half white dot, works as a sneak. He can cut through enemy lines to get to the flag but also works as someone who can get behind an enemy and attack them at the right time. Usually, just as the enemy is about to take out a friendly._

 _Huffer, half yellow half purple dot, is great at_

What is that?

On my vision screen, a red warning appeared over my writing.

 _There is a bot in the ventilation shaft. In about 30 seconds, he will be over your office. He weighs over 1,760 pounds. The ventilation grate above your desk can only support around 200 pounds. Your desk can support over 3,000 pounds. 25 seconds left now._

Why is there a bot in the ventilation system to begin with?

Quickly, I got all of the breakables off my desk just in time.

Creak, Groan, "Uh OH."

Snap, "Ah!"

A flash of yellow.

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-Story): Deep Thought pulls to a stop by an energon/water station. The girls jump out to hook him up.**

 **A- "Hey guys. Sorry, another cliffhanger. Sorry but chapters going to end where it's going to end. Also heads up to Kalo of Ga'Hoole. Sorry about the wait but now your wish is my command next chapter, sort of. Also heads up to everyone. CybertronianDefense was inspired to write and ask me to help Beta for her first story Link of Fate. Don't worry, we fingered out the timing so neither story gets left behind. Link of Fate is based on the show Max Steel. I've read every chapter so far and Love IT! It would mean a whole lot to me and to her if you awesome people could head over take a look and leave a review. You guys are awesome and see you next week. Hugs."**


	23. Ch22 Along Came A

**Author's Note (Mini-Story): Lancer strides over to the team with a mail sack.**

 **L- "Mail Call."**

 **A- "Cool thanks, Lancer. Let's see. Yep everyone is guessing at who the mystery bot is today. You guys are going to find out today promise.**

 **Darkwalker12, great idea but I'm sorry to say that's the beck with a red center isn't Meggies. I didn't explain the game Prowl was playing very well I guess. Sorry. The black with a red center was one of the characters on his team. So basically, the game was saying that if the leader of the battle died, it wouldn't matter if the team won cause there would be no more battles for the leader, in this cause Prowl. I'll have to write more on the strategy game in a later chapter to help clear this up. Thanks for the idea.**

 **For Giddy, I'm a dork *boops own head* Now that comment makes so much sense. I really should read reviews after a major exam, my brain gets all gooey."**

 **D- "Gooey?"**

 **A- "Figure of speech, Thought. Now where was I? Oh yes. Yes, I totally agree that having a Micro-minicon would be a great addition to the team. Espally one named Cliffhanger. That would be so cute. You don't happen to know where we can recruit a Micro-minicon, do you, Thought."**

 **D- "Look at the time, we have to get chugging on."**

 **A- "Thought?"**

 **But there was no time for answers.**

* * *

Ch.22 Along Came A...

Thunk! A puff of dust.

"Ow! *cough cough*," went the mystery bot.

*Cough* need to stop intakes from taking in air.

Snap! My vents sealed shut. Can't breathe.

 _Danger, you need to unseal your vents. You will begin suffocating in one minute due to trying draw in air. You'll overheat your frame._

I know that! I need to connect to Teletraan-1 so the room's vents can draw away the air.

Trying to work past my vision screen's glaring red warning, I called up my comlink. Teletraan-1 wasn't on the list of names available.

Mystery bot had stopped coughing now but his engine was rattling and whistling. The air being sucked in past the his sealed vents causing a high pitched screech.

Mine wasn't doing any better. If anything, it was worse. It felt like a box of pencils had been unleashed into my system. Pounding and poking my insides. The pain building up in my chest felt like the I had just hiccuped, and with my hiccups, my chest always felt like bursting. If the mystery bot's engine was a house cat, mine was a tiger. The roar almost overpowering the small squeal.

In desperation, I forced open my vent and breathed in the dust covered air again.

Cough, cough, cough.

This was worse. My air filtration system couldn't keep up with the micro-particles of rock dust. The stuff was sand paper, rubbing and scratching everything in its path. My optics had close themselves off by now, but the pain from sealing my vent and now breathing in the dust cloud was now forcing a water like substance past the closed lids.

Cough, please let this work. "Redalert! Tell Teletraan-1 *Cough Cough* clean *cough* air in *cough* in my office! Now!"

On a loudspeaker hidden within my office, "Prowl! What's going on? Are you being attacked? I knew that the deceptions were up to something..."

"Inferno! *Cough Cough*"

I- "On it. Red get away from the red alert button. We aren't under attack."

Fans kicked to life, drawing away the dust cloud from my visitor's fall. Soon the air was clean enough where both of us could draw in a fresh breath. But we were still coughing and sputtering.

Forcing myself to take some deep vents, My systems mostly cleared themselves. There was still a lot of junk in there and I would be hacking it out for days, like after a cold, but for now, I could breathe.

The sound a metal hitting metal came from in front of me, along with a cough.

Blinking open my optics, I saw Bee thumbing his dirt cover chest. He must have been trying to dislodge the dirt still in his systems.

Snort.

That came for above. Looking up, there was Steeljaw. Snorting and sneezing. He had a paw over his snout rubbing it furiously. Wasn't there only one bot on my sensor net when Bee fell in?

Still on the loud speaker, Inferno asked, "Everything alright, sir? Do you need anything?"

P- "I should be alright. Could you inform Ratchet that he should be expecting three patients for air intact issues."

I- "I'm now it. Red clam down already."

R- "But." The speaker shut off.

I was still looking up at Steeljaw, "Hello Steeljaw. Would you like to get *Cough* down?"

He snorted and nodded his helm.

P- "Bumblebee, *Cough* could you please get off my desk."

Bee did a double take of where he was. Scrambling off the desk, "Oh sorry Prowl.*Cough Cough* We weren't planning on dropping in on you like this."

With the desk clear, Steel was able to leap down causing another small puff of dust to form. The room's fans soon took care of that so we didn't have to worry. Dust was covering everything.

Bee and Steel's bright yellow paint were now a muted shade of mustard. Bee's black limbs were lighter in color and Steel's wings had dust bunnies hanging off the ends.

I probably didn't look any better. Boy, was this going to be fun to clean. Not only did we have to shower but I also have to wipe down my office. Joy. Well, it's a good thing that I stashed everything on my desk in the drawer.

Standing up from my chair, dust free bottom yay! "We should go see Ratchet."

B- "Why! *Cough Cough* There's nothing wrong with us."

Full of baloney and he knew it, "Our air intakes are not functioning correctly. *cough cough urge* We need to seek medical help before this becomes worse." Even I know that car engines that sound like this have something seriously wrong with them.

Steeljaw seemed to be on the same page as me since he turn towards the door and pawed the open button.

"Do we really need *Cough* to see Ratchet?"

"Yes. Let's go."

We filed out the office. Bee and Steel waited long enough for me to lock the office. Together we set off for Ratchet's medbay.

"Why were you and Steeljaw in the vents?"

"Jazz's idea."

Steeljaw nodded his helm in agreement.

Of course, it was Jazz's idea. "Explain."

"Well... *Rubs back of his helm* Jazz said we would be *cough* training today by playing a game."

"Game?"

"Yes, well. It's hide and seek."

Ok, the vents would be a good hiding spot. But why were they moving in the vents? That's asking for trouble. Like falling through a bot's ceiling for one.

"Why were you traveling in the vents? *Cough* If you were playing hid and seek, one would assume that you wouldn't be moving."

"Here's the thing. Jazz said as spies we should know when to move and when to stay still. *Cough Cough* So he told us to move about the base without any bot spotting us. Mirage, Jazz, Steel and Me are the spies. *Cough*, man that hurts. Hound, Trailbraker, and Blaster are the seekers. The seekers are supposed to walk around and try to find us the spies. Jazz told Mirage to go invisible and for Steel and Me to go into the vents since we should be playing to our strengths."

Well, that does make sense, if Hound was getting close to finding Bee and Steel then they would have had to move. But why did they fall through my roof?

"How many offices and ceiling grates did you and Steeljaw pass before crashing into my office?"

"I don't know. 20 at least."

Is my office booby trapped for spies? And they boobied right into it.

"You said that you were to move without being spotted by anyone, correct?"

"Yeah..."

"Should I inform one of the seekers or Jazz that both you and Steeljaw are out?"

"Out?"

"Out of the game. You lost even before you fell into my office."

"What do you mean?"

"My doorwing sensors spotted both you and Steeljaw *only Bee, not Steel* in the vent. Even if you hadn't fallen through the vent, You would have still been considered spotted since I knew that both of you were in there."

"Oh. Drat it. Fine, you can tell both the seekers and Jazz that you found us."

For both Bee's and Steeljaw's benefit, I moved my hand to my audio receptor and called up Hound, Trailbraker, Blaster, and Jazz on the comlink.

H- "Hi Prowl.

T- "Trailbraker here."

B- "What's up?"

J- "Hey, Prowler."

Thought speaking, _Jazz it's Prowl. Not Prowler._

Four sets of snickers. Great, I walked right into that.

P- _Speaking of prowlers,_ *inner snicker* _I found two of yours in the vents above my office._

H- "'You caught Bee and Steel? Good show. Trail and I got Mirage not too long ago. You get Jazz yet, Blaster?"

B- "Not yet, but this comlink is helping."

J- "Oh no, I've been betrayed. Thanks a lot, Prowler. *Cackle*"

The comlink ended. What in the world? I didn't do that. A comlink with Jazz's name soon appeared.

J- "Miss me?"

P- _Jazz, that wasn't very polite._

J- "Had to do it, Prowler. Blaster was getting to close. You almost blew my cover. Though it's great that he's figuring out triangulation with the com, thanks."

P- _Prowl, and you're welcome. Bumblebee, Steeljaw and I are heading over to the medbay for repairs. The dust partials in the ventilation system are damaging to our own air intake systems._

J- "Do we need to have that cleaned up? I think that's a Minibot job."

P- _We should leave the vents as they are for now. The dusk can tell us if anyone but Autobot has been in the vents recently. Although, I will detain both Bumblebee, Steeljaw, and possibly you tomorrow._

J- "Why?"

P _\- You told them to practice in the ventilation system which caused them to break my ceiling grate and make a mess of my office. You are to blame for setting them on that path and they are at fault for not checking first if the grate could support their weight. Thus, you all need to come in tomorrow to help fix the mess. In fact, have your whole team come over to help clean up. A team that wins together also falls together. The actions of one member can affect the outcome of future missions._

J- "Geez, Prowler, your harsh."

P- _It's Prowl, and battle is harsh. Best now that your team begins to learn this._

J- "Ok, Prrooowwwllleeerrrr, I get ya. You're going over to the medbay, right? Does that mean our lunch date is taking place there today?"

P _\- Prowl, and we're not having a lunch date. We are not dating and we didn't plan on having lunch together._

J- "But you were counting on me bringing you a cube, right?"

P- _Based on your previous behavior, yes._

J- "Then it was a lunch date, Prowler. See you lator gator."

P _\- It's not a..._

He cut me. It's not a date. Ok, maybe I shouldn't be so huffy about since I call a meet up of friends a lunch date back home. But still, it's not a date.

Bee spoke up, "Did they laugh?"

P- "No, only Jazz knows that you and Steeljaw fell into my office. *Cough* He didn't laugh but he did agree that you and the rest of Special Ops will be cleaning up the mess you made today."

B- "What for! I get why me and Steel have to, but why the rest of the team? They didn't do anything."

P- "A team that wins together falls together. The actions of one affect all. A common practice in military training camps to teach teamwork and promote team bonding."

B- "Oh."

We were at the medbay doors by now so the conversation ended there. The doors swished open to reveal Ratchet in a glorious rage that was held back by his hands being on his waist. He's gonna blow.

R- "Just what did you three do!"

B- "I blame, Jazz."

R- "I don't care who you blame! What I want to know is what did you three do to yourselves!"

P- "We have caused our air intake some distress, it seems. *Cough, I did not time that, I swear* We sealed our vents when there was dust in the air but had to open them again when our systems didn't automatically switch to recycling the air already in our system. We breathed in fine rock partials that are *Cough, really I'm not timing that.* now rubbing our systems raw. *Couch, ok maybe I'm timing it a little.*"

Ratchet pointed towards the berths, "Just sit your shiny little rumps down. I'll be right back. Don't you dare think you can leave."

He vanished into his office. The sound of datapads flying soon echoed out.

Both Bee and I took separate berths while Steel decided to join me on mine. He stayed close enough that I could feel his frame's heat but still not touching, again.

B- "You sure got Doc Bot mad. I wonder where 'Aid is."

I'm not the one who kicked up a dust storm in my office. Ignore it. Prowl wouldn't retort to it. "Firstaid's shift is over at the moment. Ratchet is the only one in here for the rest of the day."

B- "How do you know... Oh. Forget what I was about to ask. It's a dumb question."

P- "There are no dumb questions. There may be annoying ones, but there aren't any dumb ones."

Before he could retort to that, Jazz came bursting in while Ratchet came stomping out with a datapad.

R- "Jazz, if you had gotten your wrist bent out of shape again I'll..."

J- "Cool your jets Hatchet. I come bearing gifts."

And there's the Hatchet. I was wondering when that would pop up. I thought it was going to be the Terror Twins that I would hear it from first.

Ratchet crossed his arms, "What kind of gifts?"

Jazz pulled out two energon cubes and bowed, "Why energon for you, my crew, and my dear Prowler."

P- "It's Prowl."

Bee and Steel snickered and then began coughing again.

R- "Fine, give everyone their cube. They can start sipping it slowing while I whip up the syrup."

B- "Syrup?"

Ratchet either chose to not hear him or really didn't cause he was already at one of the counter tops measure out ingredients based on the pad's instructions.

Jazz placed a cube on Ratchet's desk, then turned to us, "Let's see a chocolate shake for Bee. A hot chocolate mint for Steel. Another hot chocolate mint for Prowler."

P- "It's Prowl."

J- "And an iced coffee for me."

B- "Thanks."

Steeljaw nodded his helm in thanks and turned to his drink.

P- "Thank you, Jazz."

Jazz hopped onto a berth across from me, "Your welcome."

Ratchet came over to use with a beaker full of white foamy liquid. "Hand over your cubes."

Meekly the three stooges *that's including me* handed over our cubes to Ratchet. He poured Cybertronian sized proportions of the magic potion into our drinks, turning them white. He then handed them back over to us.

R- "This should help your nanites clear up your systems."

Bee gave his cube a distrusted look, "How's this suppose to work?"

R- "Cough syrup. Now drink."

Gulp, gulp, gulp. Bleh, that totally ruined the drink. Too much lemon. And just like when I drink cherry-flavored cough syrup at home, I started sputtering after finishing my drink.

Steel and Bee started sputtering too.

Jazz laughed, "You guys going to be alright?"

R- "They'll be fine. Breath normally. The discomfort will pass. Breath through your mouth."

Breath in. Breath out. I could feel the liquid start to stick to my throat. It felt like the partials that were just hanging around were being caught in the gunk.

Breath out. Puff, a white cloud a junk came out of my mouth.

What in the world?

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-Story): Deep Thought pulls to a stop in front a mail station. The girls help him unhook.**

 **D- I'm going to scout the next section of track now. I want to make sure that it's still safe from the Deceptiglitches that attacked 's power source yesterday."**

 **Allora waves him on, "You go do your thing. Lancer and I are going to check up on the cars' connections and all of that Jazz."**

 **Thought turned towards the mist of untold stories and soon disappeared into the distance. As soon as Thought was gone, Allora grabbed Lancer's hand and headed for the back of the line.**

 **L- "Where are we going?"**

 **A- "To the end of the line. Thought was avoiding my question earlier, so now I'm curious. I want to find out if my suspicions are right."**


	24. Ch23 Sea Foam

**Author's Note (Mini-Story): Allora and Lancer had checked all of the train cars on their track to the end of the line. Everything seemed to check out.**

 **L- "Come Allora, Thought is going to be back soon. What are you expecting to find?"**

 **A- "Maybe a hitchhiker."**

 **L- "Hitchhiker?"**

 **The girls come up upon the end of the line. there was no caboose like they were excepting. The last car in the line was just another passenger car. The only thing different with it was that it had a box the size of a shoe box and had a red light.**

 **L- "Where's the caboose?"**

 **A- "We don't have one since we use a sleeper car for sleeping. As far as I'm aware, Thought has never needed a caboose to keep track of the train cars' connections. But that box is telling me otherwise."**

 **L- "What's wrong with the box."**

 **A-"It shouldn't be there."**

 **Allora stomped over to the box and started messing with it. Soon the sound of giggles could be heard coming out of the box.**

 **"Stop, stop, that tickles."**

 **A- "You going to tell us who you are?"**

 **"You're not going to hurt me?"**

 **A- "I don't see a reason why I should hurt you."**

 **Allora stepped away from the box and it began transforming away from the car. Soon there was a silver micro-minicon with blue optics staring at the girls.**

 **"Hi, guys. Hi, Deep Thought."**

 **Both the girls jump and whirled to find Deep Thought trying to sneak up on them.**

 **D- "A, hi guys, I guess you found out about our little buddy."**

 **A- "How long has he been with us Thought?"**

 **D- "You know that tree branch on the tracks at the end of chapter 3? Well, this guy accidently put it there."**

 **A- "You did that?"**

 **The tiny bot rubbed the back of his helm, "Yeah, sorry about that. I kind of jumped too high went trying to get out your guys' way. The branch broke off and I landed on the back of one of the cars. When I apologized to DT he offered me a place to stay. Said I could help keep track of all of the train cars and help him break at the right time.**

 **A- "Well I'm always glad for the extra hands, but I don't get why you didn't tell me Thought."**

 **D- "Wasn't sure how you would take it. Silly me."**

 **Lancer laughed, "Yeah, silly you Thought. You still haven't told us your name little buddy."**

 **"Umm... I don't really have a name. I just came online not that long ago really."**

 **A- "Well, we can fix that. In fact, one of our readers has already suggested a name. How does Cliffhanger sound?"**

 **C- "I like it. Who came up with this name? I'd like to thank them."**

 **A- "Giddy. She is one of our most loyal Guest Reviewer. Only missed one chapter since she has joined us."**

 **Cliffhanger turns to the readers, "Hi Giddy. Thanks for the name."**

 **D- "Cool, let's all head to the front. You too Cliff."**

 **The girls hop onto Thought's hand while Cliff transforms into a mini caboose and speeds away, without a train track helping him.**

* * *

Ch.23 Seafoam

"Ratchet! *White puff* Why is this happen? *white puffs with every word*"

By now I was covering my mouth in an attempt to keep my sudden dragon's breath from emerging. Steeljaw was mimicking me while Bee was laughing to hard at both of us to notice that Bee was doing it too.

Jazz was rolling on his berth and bawhahahaing loudly. It wasn't that funny. He was so loud that I couldn't hear Ratchet's response.

Quickly, I reached over Steeljaw and scooped up Bee's empty cube. I then lobbed it at Jazz's helm. Before it hit him, I grabbed my own empty cube.

It bopped Jazz on his roll up, surprising him so much that he landed on his back and clutched his helm on the berth.

J- "Ow! Son of a Glitch Head! Who threw that? That hurt. Blisters."

Jazz sat back up, saw the second empty cube beside him and picked it up. He then took stock of all who had cubes and found that Bee was missing his.

B- "Ow! What was that for? *White puffs of cloud*"

J- "You hit me!"

B- "I did not! *white puffs of cloud*"

P- "Gentlemen*white puff cloud filtered pass hand* if you're done with your tom-foolery. *White puffs still leaking out* I believe that Ratchet was trying to explain why this phenomenon is occurring. *Even more white puffs leaking out*"

B- "Hey, maybe he could tell us who threw that cube first. *White puffs with every word*"

R- "I didn't anything. *Chuckle* Too much foam."

All of us non-medical bots that talked, "Foam? *Two sets of white foam?*" Steeljaw just tilted his helm.

"Yes, Foam." Ratchet had an all out grin on his face. Which was kind of scary. He probably thought the whole thing was hilarious.

R- "Have any of you heard of Sea Foam? The Motor Treatment for cars."

Steel shook his helm no along with Jazz and Bee.

I narrowed my optics in thought. I would think that I would remember the name Sea Foam if my Dad used it to fix the Honda. I don't remember the name. Did he ever use anything like this when I was around to help him out?

 _Dad, "Hey Karen, you want to help me out in the garage for a sec?"_

 _Dad was currently working on fixing our family's Honda. I was currently reading one of my favorite books, Enchanted Inc. by Shanna Swendson. It had been my go-to book for the past 3 years whenever I couldn't figure out what to read. I've read the book over 15 times, Making it the book that my friends would jokingly call the Karen Book. I enjoyed the book for not only for the romance between the two main characters but for how it explained how magic could work in our world._

 _It made sense. Shanna Swendson had found a way for magic to work in the modern age. Not only did she find a way for magic to be a business, she had figured out how magic could affect everyone, even the non-magical._

 _It was an amazing book for that alone, but what made it even better was how the main character was just like me. A small town girl with a lot of common sense, who thought she is just too ordinary. This was a book where I really connected with the character._

 _But I have read the book over 15 times, and I did kind of want to learn more about how to fix a car on my own. You never knew when the knowledge could come in handy. I placed my bookmark set my book next to my chair._

" _Sure thing, Dad."_

 _I found that the Van, 17 years old and counting, was still in its normal spot next to the door to the house. The Truck's spot had been taken over by the Honda. Dad had the Honda's hood up and was currently messing with a thick pipe that fed into what I knew was the engine. There were shiny new spray cans sitting on the shelf behind him. He had said earlier that they should be able to help clear up the carbon build up in the engine._

" _So where do you want me?"_

" _I want you to sit in the driver's seat and rev the engine for me."_

 _Heading over to the left side of the Honda, "Won't that hurt the engine? I thought it was a bad idea for cars other than racers."_

" _It'll be fine. Rev it up to 15 mph. We've got to get the whole can into the engine."_

 _Memory speeds past the boring bits to the fun part._

 _Dad and I were sitting in the car, driving down the road. I could see a small amount of smoke coming out of the exhaust in the passenger mirror._

 _Dad looked to see if anyone was behind us, "We're clear. Ready to see if that magic spray did the trick?"_

" _Sure?"_

 _Dad put the pedal to the metal, causing a huge cloud o white smoke to come shooting out of the car. We speed around for a little bit til the smoke stopped._

 _For the rest of that year, the Honda stopped revving up when we were at stop lights._

Surely this can't be the same stuff that Dad used for cleaning out the engines for our family vehicles. Could it?

That stuff didn't clean out the air intake. It just went in that way. The stuff just mostly helped clean the carbon build up from the combustion of gasoline.

P- "Ratchet, are you talking about a motor cleaning product that comes in a spray can? *White puffs of foam? Still coming out*"

Ratchet's grin got even worse if it got any bigger it would larger than a Cheshire cat's grin. "Yes, care to explain happens when you put into a car's engine?"

P- "In my present condition, it would be agreeable if you would explain. *White clouds of puff, let's just call them puffs*"

Ratchet didn't rub his hands together, but that wouldn't have been out of place with the look of glee. "Well, Sea Foam is a product that you put into your car's intake system to help dislodge the carbon buildup[. Works great for older vehicles but not so much for new ones. After putting the stuff in, a great cloud of smoke comes out when revving up your car's engine."

B- "But we don't have carbon build up. *white puffs* We just inhaled some dust. *Cough with huge puff cloud*"

R- "No but this stuff is the Cybertronian equivalent to it. It's designed to bond with the junk in your intake and repress the coughs cause from the irritant. Instead, it promotes beneficial coughs that are designed to get most of the junk out at a time, in the form of white smoke. This would work better if you and Prowl could access your Alt. Modes, but that's not happening till next week so you three will have to keep taking this cough syrup till everything is out of your systems."

B- "Wait! We have to keep drinking that nasty stuff? *puffs of junk*"

R- "Yes, and it serves you right for being stupid."

Bee flung his arm wide, "How was I to know that Prowl had a booby trap grate? *"

J- "Lol, Prowler. You booby trapped your office?"

P- "Prowl, and no I did not. *Puffs of junk* My office just came with a weaker grate than what is normally used. *Puff of junk* Ratchet, is there a way to seal our air intake form particles in the future? *Puff of junk* From what I understand these frame should not need to breath, but it was impossible to hold one's breath. *puff of junk*"

Ratchet crossed his arm and put one hand under his chin, "Well it's true that we don't have to breath in the normal sense of the word, but we do need to breath. Breathing in these frames is a way to keep our systems cool without using up too much coolant. It's also a way for us to process energon. We can process energon without air but it's a more efficient process if we do have air along with the energon. Like adding liquid oxygen to a fire creates a bigger flame. We do have an iron lung, if you will, that can store and recycle oxygen for long periods of time like the air system on the International Space Station. We don't normally use this lung since most of the air either goes straight to our cooling system, energon system, or our pressure assisted joints. I'll have to look into how we can learn how to use these lungs, but I don't know why Steeljaw here didn't already know how to use them."

J- "Can answer that. Steel didn't have enough time to get a proper fresh breath of air before Bee fell through. That or Steel is a newborn like the rest of us."

I glanced at Steeljaw, but he wasn't giving anything away. Guess it will be a mystery why Steel wasn't able to seal himself off from the dust cloud.

P- "Are we free to go, Ratchet? It's time to log off for Earthside Lunch."

R- "You can go. But when you log back in, stop by before dinner. I'll have more of this medicine ready for you for the rest of the week. You'll need to take it with ever cube until everything is out of your systems."

B- "Yeah, so looking forward to that."

Me too.

Everyone but Ratchet grabbed their empty cubes and filed out of the medbay. Ratchet disappeared into his office. It was closer than his quarters to log out in.

Now how to get back to my quarters without being spotted. No need to let bots notice white puffs coming from my joints whenever I moved.

I had barely turned towards the unused sections of hallway when Bee called out.

B- "Where are you going?"

Turning towards the group, "To my quarters. *White puff*"

Bee towards the general direction of the quarters, "Aren't your quarters that way?*white puff*"

P- "Yes, but I rather not be seen in this condition for the time being.*white puff*"

Jazz laughed, "You can't hide forever, Prowler."

P- "Prowl, and I'm not planning on hiding forever. I'm just delaying the inevitable.*white puff*"

B- "You know, I'd rather wait till dinner for everybot to find out about this too. *white puff*

Lead the way, Sir"

So we as a group began to stealthed our way back to the quarters area of the ship. Jazz didn't need to tag along, but he probably thought this was too good to pass up. Us having white puff clouds appearing at every step was really fun. I thought so, I didn't like that it happened to me.

Bee was the first one to break off since his quarters where the closest to the medbay. Then Steeljaw left. Not sure if Blaster's quarters were that close to Bee's or if Blaster happened to be close by.

Jazz stayed with me, which didn't make sense. His quarters should be closer to Bluestreak's quarters since I found near Bluestreak on Monday.

"Why haven't you left for your quarters Jazz? *White puffs*"

"Cuz I like hanging out with you, Prowler."

"Prowl. *White puff*"

If this nickname thing kept up, I might start replying Prowl to everything in the real world and where would that leave me?

We left the darkend corridors and found ourselves in front of my quarters. I went to punch in my code but stopped myself. Jazz was not making himself scarce like he should be since I was about to leave the game. If fact, it felt like he was trying to look over my wings to see what I was going to type in for a code.

Turning to look over my shoulder, "Jazz, what are you doing? *White puff*"

"Why waiting for you to invite me in, of course."

Naw aw, no way. "No."

His smirk turned into a puppy frown that would have worked better if I could see his optics. "But Prowler, but my quarters are so far away. And I'm hungry. It would be so much faster if I just logged out in your quarters."

I snorted. I legit snorted which cause an enormous amount of white puff cloud to come out my olfactory sensor. I probably looked like an angry red bull based on Jazz's need to stifle a giggle.

He had already broken into my office, one of only two safe places for me to relax my character and online without anyone finding out how much it hurt. And now he wanted free range of my room! No way Josa.

"Prowl and you have already broken into my office. Why would I give you permission to enter my quarters?"

Jazz moved his hand away, but the smirk from the mental image of me being an angry bull was still making him smirk. My red horns were probably not helping matters.

"Ah, come on Prowler. We're friends aren't we? You won't even notice that I'm in there."

"Prowl and yes I will. This is my personal space. I don't want you in there."

"So your hiding something."

"No, I am not. I would like to have one place where I can be alone. I know that your currently trying to figure out who I am in real life and I don't appreciate your need to invade my personal space."

Jazz stepped back and raised his hand in defense since I had now turned fully towards him at this point. And I'm glad to say that neither my voice or my wings had changed from their neutral mode.

"Wow, chill mech. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get you all riled up. I just thought it would be fun if our characters hung out like they normally do."

"We are not our characters. The Prowl and Jazz you think you know have had millennium to build that type of relationship where one would comfortable to the other constantly invade their personal space. We are not at that point."

The smirk left Jazz's face. "Ok, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I'm really sorry. Can we still be friends? I promise not the break in your safe zones anymore."

I signed to let him know that I was done with my mini-rant. "Jazz, I'm fine with you practicing your craft on my office. In fact, I should be encouraging it since your team will have to get past Soundwave. From what I understand, he almost as difficult to sneak up on as me."

Jazz's smile returned, "Sure thing Prowler. See you at dinner?"

"Prowl, and yes if you are willing to join Huffer and me."

"Cool."

* * *

 **Author's Notes (Mini-Story): Deep Thought pulls to a stop by a mail and everyone jumps out. Allora runs over to the mailbox and grabs two letters.**

 **A- "Only two this week guys. One from Giddy and one from CybertronDefense. Both are saying that the story is so far especially Jazz, he's being funny at the moment. There one question that Katen will figure out in the future, I think. Now I'm guessing people will be asking what you were doing at the end of the line Cliff so why don't you tell us more about yourself?"**

 **C- "Well, I'm a rare Triple-Changer Micro-minicon. When I met Thought, I became his End-of-Train Device (ETD) also know as a Flashing Rear-End Device (FRED) or a Sense and Brake Unit (SBU). I was helping him keep track of the car near the end of the line and find good breaking points for the story. Now I get to hang out with the rest of the gang and show off my other alt. mode a tiny caboose."**

 **A- "Thanks, Cliffhanger, also guys, I'm on Spring Break so there is a good chance of there being an extra chapter. But I do have to study for an exam that takes place two days after Break, so yeah I'm stressing a little. On the Plus side, my future summer job is having a training session this week that I'm looking forward to. Hugs to everyone."**


	25. Ch24 Puff

**Author's Note (Mini-Story): Deep Thought, Cliffhanger, and Lancer were currently sneaking up to Allora's office car. She was supposed to be on Spring Break, but Deciptiglitches had hacked her course schedule so that there would be an exam 2 days after she got back. So instead of working on an extra chapter for the story and relaxing, Allora had ended up studying for most of the week. But today was Saturday and they team how decided that she needed a break from her hard work.**

 **Deep Thought positioned himself above the opened sunroof while Lancer and Cliff stopped in front of the door. Cliff knocked on the door.**

 **C- "Allora? You still alive in there?"**

 **A- "Yes."**

 **L- "You planning to come out?"**

 **A- "Nope. Not ready for the exam."**

 **Thought mentioned to his cohorts that he hadn't gotten a complete fix yet.**

 **L- "Come on Allora. You know that studying 24/7 is going to make you stress out too much."**

 **A- "And if I don't study enough, I'll stress during the exam."**

 **C- "One little break couldn't hurt right?"**

 **Before Allora could reply, Thought reach in and grabbed her through the piles of paper flooding the car.**

 **A- "Deep Thought put me down! I don't have time to relax!"**

 **D- "Na ah, you're taking a break from your study who ha."**

 **As Thought is carrying her away, "Help!"**

 **Lancer and Cliff laughed and jogged behind Thought's pounding foot steps.**

* * *

Ch.24 Puff

After successfully steering Jazz away from my quarters, I unload my subspace of my gun and ammo into the closet. Back in the office, I had decided to take out the datapads and crystal stuff from my subspace and hide them in my desk's drawer in the office, along with my computer. They should be safe enough till I could retrieve them.

Instead of grabbing a fresh towel, I used the towel that I had hung to dry after my morning shower. It's was still clean in my book since I used it while I was clean myself. During the shower, I focused on my front side since that had been the area to get the most desk. I probably would have played with my little puff issue if the puffs didn't mix into the steam of the shower, making it impossible to tell them apart.

Feeling squeaky clean again, I crawled into my berth and tucked my wings into the beetle position since I had found that in was the most comfortable and least straining of all of the sleep positions, including the one involving pillows. Following my wings, my frame's natural sleep position was to curl up into a ball. If I was Earthside, I would have my back pressed against the wall at this point but I couldn't here since the berth was in the middle of the room.

I might want to rearrange sometimes in here was my last thought before logging off.

* * *

Waking up in my pod, I found that my throat felt a little sore. Odd, I don't it's a cold or I would have been snuffing and sneezing by now. Maybe I just played with my mouth opened like I sometimes do when I sleep. When I slept with my mouth opened, it always felt a little sore in the throat for a little after I woke up.

I think I'll ignore it for now. If it gets worse, I'll talk to Doc Raf then. I don't want to get the whole stirred into thinking we are all going to come down with a base wide cold soon.

Rushing, I found that I was the last one to the lunch table today unsurprisingly since I had to take a second game side shower. Our group having officially decided to only bring up topics that most players would know didn't bring up the question of why I was way later than everyone else.

B- "Hey Karen, you just got out too?"

Kar- "You delayed Gameside too?"

B- "Yeah, but it wasn't a big deal."

D- "Ok, now that everyone is here, what is the topic of today? Kyle, you got any ideas."

Ky- "Nope. I didn't see anything worth mentioning. Kaylie?"

Kaylie shook her head so we all turned to Hannah.

H- "I did some training with Ironhide today. Not that much to report, though. But I did see the Terror Twins head into one of the private training rooms. Either they are planning pranks or just wrestling."

Or testing the limits of their possible twin bond.

B- "Well, Wheeljack did manage to blow up some energon this morning. Don't get why the amount of water in energon had anything to do with it, though."

Kar- "Cause when Sodium metal comes into contact with water it reacts causing a huge explosion. Though it's relatively tame compared to other metal water combos, I wonder just how much energon and sodium metal did Wheeljack use to make the base shake like that."

And everyone was staring at me.

Kar- "What?"

H- "You sure that you're not Perceptor or some other science bot."

Kar- "Haha, no. Even if I was I wouldn't tell you."

B- "Then how do you know all of that."

Kar- "Well let's see. Mythbusters, Chem classes, Google, YouTube, The King of Random...Umm..."

Ky- "Hold up, who's the King of Random?"

Kar- "A YouTuber that makes fun DIY videos that are science based. A lot of his projects required other projects to work though so people keep coming back for new info. If we had internet I would pull it put up to show you guys."

Kay- "Well it might be a good thing that you can't pull it up. If someone like Wheeljack found out they just might try replicating those projects here instead of Gameside. I don't want to deal with explosions in real life."

David chuckled, "Doc Raf might have threatened 'Jack's player into only messing around with explosives Gameside for that reason alone."

Speaking of Doc Raf, everyone's communicator went off.

I pulled mine out and found this message.

 _Everyone has been neglecting their daily exercise routine since the game started up. If you guys don't start doing least 30-minute workouts once a day, I'm going to start using my right as a Doctor to ground people from the game._

 _Don't be Stupid or it's the Wrench!_

 _Dr. Raphael_

There's our lovable Doc Raf looking out for us, but how is he going to ground us from the game? Does he control a safety lock or something?

D- "*chuckle* Mama Raf is at it again."

Kay- "Leave Doctor Raphael alone, he is just looking out for us. And he does have a point, we should be exercising more since we are so wrapped up in the game."

D- "I know that but can't he take a break for a week? We've only been playing the game for less than three days."

Kay- "It takes, at least, a week to develop a healthy habit. Better that we start now then regretting it later."

Kar- "I don't suppose that Doc Raf would consider Greenhouse work equal to going to the gym?"

Kaylie frowned at me.

Sign, "I figured as much. That never really worked Topside either."

H- "Buck up Karen. We could all be workout buddies or something."

Ky- "That might be fun. We could start now after lunch since most of us are off the game for a bit."

Kar- "But we can't right now if we want the aquaponics system to where we want it for tomorrow. Remember? I still have to work on it tomorrow."

Kay- "If not now, when do you plan on working out today?"

Kar- "I don't know, after dinner maybe. Might make it easier to fall asleep tonight at least."

David got up along with Brandon, "Well guys, we'll leave you green thumbs to your house while Brandon and I head over to the gym to get our 30 done for today. See you later."

Kay- "Wait for me, I'll join you two."

* * *

The Green Thumbs, as Hannah decided our mini team name should be based on David's remark, got to work getting the system to where we wanted it for I day long mission tomorrow. Chit chat was short unless involved the discussing how to system could work better for the greenhouse.

We also decided that Kyle was our official fix-it man since he liked hanging out in the greenhouse with us. That and when one of the sprinkler systems broke in the Desert scape, he was able to fix it faster than both Hannah and me.

By the time we were done, it was time to head back over to the VR room for our Gameside supper.

Crawling into my pod, I waived to Hannah and Kyle, "See you two Gameside."

They echoed, "See you."

* * *

Waking in my Dreamscape, I checked again to see if anything had become a miss from my episode in the training room. Everything appeared normal for now, but how was an anti-virus system going to work with my processor? A question best saved for when Ratchet brought it up.

Following my path of awareness, I found that this time the info dump from my doorwings didn't hurt as much. In fact, it was half as painful so I could handle it better. The difference between stubbing your toe to a quick prick of a needle.

I'm definitely sleeping with my wings in the beetle position from now on.

Stretching like a cat, I uncurled myself from my ball and rolled off the berth. Since I didn't need anything for supper, I started to head out the door but then notice my puff trails.

Oh no, groan. I forgot about that and I have to see Ratchet for more medicine. There is no way of hiding this from everybot tonight. Sigh.

Sneaking out of my quarters, I dashed into the unlit hallways until I made it to the medbay safely. Instead of Ratchet being there, it was Firstaid waiting for me.

"*Pfft* Hi Prowl. What happened to you, Bee, and Steeljaw? Is that what this medicine is for?"

"Yes, I assume Bumblebee and Steeljaw have already picked up their prescription. *puffs*"

"Yep, Bee came by and Blaster came with Steeljaw for his. You're the only one left."

Firstaid pulled out from subspace a clear plastic box that had holes drilled through the top to hold vials. There were 21 small vials.

Great, I'm going to have to take one everyone meal. Goodbye, sweet sweet hot chocolate mint energon. Hello, super sour lemon.

"Now, according to Ratchet, you are to pour one of these into your cube at every meal. He says that you should be ok after a week, but if you're still having trouble with your air intake then you have to report for more. But with you coming in every day, I don't think that will be an issue."

Taking the box, "Do I need a physical now? *puffs*"

"No, Ratchet says once a day for you is ok and that's the same for Earthside. We think your past the imminent danger zone so now we are waiting for delayed effects."

"Why do you think I'm relatively safe now? *puffs*"

"It's been over 48 hours."

"Isn't that a myth?*puffs*"

"Yeah, but we figured that you might want everyone to relax a little bit. Plus, we're probably stressing you out way more than necessary by having you come in every time you log in."

"Ratchet mentioned me asking for once a week only check-ups didn't he? *puffs*"

"Yeah, he did. I get why you don't want to have all of these check ups but you do get why we want them done right?"

"Unfortunately, I do but I still believe that we are over reacting to the situation.*puffs* I don't feel different but everybot feels the like I'm damaged.*puffs*"

Firstaid raised his brows, "Really, everybot?"

"Ok, just the command stuff and you, but those are the bots I have spent the most time with so far. *Puffs* Not very fun for me.*Puffs*"

"Well, this should help. You want to head to dinner now?"

"Sure why not.*Puffs*"

We headed over to the mess hall and as soon as we entered Sideswipe gave me a whistle.

S- "Look, it's Puff the Magic Dragon."

Then everybot that had prankster tendencies started singing along with Sideswipe.

"Puff the Magic Dragon lived by the Sea."

They weren't singing the normal slow version of the song, but a sped up version that sounded more like a bar song than a children's tune.

Bee was trying to duck his helm but he was sitting with other Minibots so it was still easy to see him. Blaster and Steeljaw weren't in the room, so they must have vacated to their quarters in order to avoid everyone.

I let Firstaid get his cube before mine since I wanted to mess with it. I wanted to find something to make my medicine less sour.

I know that there is a berry in real like that can trick your taste buds into thinking something that is sour is the sweetest thing on Earth. Now if only there is a Cybertronian equivalent.

"Excuse me, Prowl. Do you need any help?"

Turning, it was Preceptor patiently waiting his turn. He had a thoughtful look on his face seemingly not noticing the song and my white puffs.

He might just be the bot I'm looking for. If anyone had looked up which additives affect the taste of the energon it would be him and Wheeljack.

"Yes, there is this berry, The Miracle Berry, that has the ability to make sour foods taste sweet. I'm hoping that one of these additives would have the same effect on my medication. *puffs*"

Perceptor's microscope lens on his shoulder whirled, "Is this medicine the reason why you are exhaling smoke?"

"Yes, it is to help my air intake system repair itself after inhaling harmful particles. Unfortunately, this smoke is a side effect and the medication is sour.*puffs* do you know if any of the additives here have the same properties as a Miracle Berry."

"Is the Miracle Berry Synsepalum _dulcificum?_ Containing the chemical miraculin?"

I had to rake my memory but the chemical he mentioned sounded right. But I've always had a difficult time memorizing scientific names, so I couldn't be sure. I know a plant scientist that's horrible with scientific names, who'd da thunk.

"Yes, I believe that is correct.*Puff*"

"Please give me a moment while I search for a compound with similar properties to miraculin."

Perceptor's optics dimmed including his monocle targeting lens. His scope, on the other hand, started whirling even faster, a result of how fast he was processing information.

The song had stopped by now, the bots seeing that they weren't going to get a raise from me. Bee looked less embarrassed but still had a sheepish grin on his face. His cloudy white cube was half way empty. I'd rather get it done quick but each to his own I guess.

Perceptor returned to the world of the living soon, his scope lens slowing down giving me a fair warning.

"I believe I have found the correct compound. I can prepare your cube for you now and show you what to do for future medication application."

Unsubspacing a vial, I handed it to him and stepped aside. "Thank you.*puff*"

Perceptor when straight to work, making me a chilled energon drink with my medicine and 3 spoonfuls of the right compound. Reading the label, I found that the powder was derived from a crystal that I had read about from my book since I recognized the name. Manisidian.

Odd you would think that the book would have touched upon the crystal's ability. Well, I did only read the growing section so I might need to look it up in the energon additives section instead.

Perceptor handed the drink to me. It didn't look any different so my sip was tentative. When it hit my taste receptors, my mouth was flooded with cold sweet goodness.

"Thank you Perceptor. *Huge puffs of cloud*"

"You're welcome Prowl. *Hands me a datapad* Here's that report you asked for earlier."

With that, we went to our respective tables.

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-Story): Deep Thought pulls to a stop and the little people jump out. Allora is smiling.**

 **A- "Thanks, guys, but now I really have to get back to studying."**

 **With that, she started marching towards her office.**

 **L- "Aren't you going to answer reader questions?"**

 **A- "You guys can handle it."**

 **Cliffhanger pulls out a mail sack from subspace, "Ok, BIackrose13, CMOBlitzin, duchesseduo are loving the story. duchesseduo especially likes that it isn't a forced Prowl liking Jazz story. CybertronDefense thinks Jazz is trying to get Karen to respond to Prowl In RL, so we'll have to wait to see if that's true. We got a new reader all the way back in Ch.1 Snail Mail Herald, glad you're on board you're in for a blast."**

 **D- "We'll see you all next week."**


	26. Ch25 Din Din

**Author's Note (Mini-Story): Allora emerged from her hidy hole and stretched.**

 **A- "Happy Happy Easter, did we get any mail this week?"**

 **L- "Yep duchesseduo says they want more."**

 **C- "And CybertronDefense asked if Jazz was one of the mechs to sing Puff the Magic Dragon?"**

 **A- "Yep he did, and** **duchesseduo here's another chapter for you."**

 **D- "Alright guys, jump on board and let's go."**

 **The girls and Cliffhanger jump on board Deep Thought and away they go.**

* * *

Ch.25 Din Din

With my sugary medicine, I headed over to my usual table. Both Jazz and Huffer were there tonight, but they weren't talking. Huff was staring at a datapad while Jazz projected a dreamy blankness. I didn't believe that look for one minute.

If Jazz's player was anything like his character, he would be constantly scanning the room while putting everyone off about it.

Sitting down, "Good evening Huffer, Jazz.*Puffs*"

Huffer looked up briefly, "Hi, Prowl."

J- "Hi, Prowler."

P- "Prowl. *puff*"

H- "Prowler?"

J- "Yay, Prowler said that I could call him whatever I liked."

P- "Prowl, and I never made that agreement.*Puffs*"

Jazz leaned closer, "Prooowwwllller."

P- "Prowl.*Puff*"

J- "Prowler."

P- "Prowl. *Puff*"

J- "Prowler."

P- "Prowl.*Puff*"

J- "Prooowwler."

P- "Prowl.*Puff*"

J- "Prowler."

Ok, this was getting old. Jazz was only doing this to keep seeing smoke come out of my mouth and poor Huffer was going to lose his helm at the rate of him following our argument like a ping pong ball. I'm pretty sure that half the room was staring at was now and if I didn't do something soon, Jazz might pull a Bugs Bunny routine.

P- "Prowl. What are you working on Huffer?*Puff*"

Huffer started, realizing that the conversation had somehow gotten off course, crashing into him. Jazz gave a fake pout in my direction. Score one for Prowl.

H- "Oh umm... I'm just looking over the design Perceptor suggested for your mailbox, Prowl. Once it's built, he can program it for you with Redalert's help."

J- "Why does Prowler need a mailbox?"

Before I could get after him, Huffer spoke.

H- "He asked me for one. Prowl's business is his business."

P- "How soon will you be able to install it?*Puffs*"

H- "I've finished the medbay's order and I've got the supplies together for this and your earlier order. If your willing to wait for your first order, I can get your box installed tomorrow and let Redalert and Perceptor at it that evening."

P- "As I said, the mailbox takes precedence.*Puffs*"

Jazz raised his hand like he was in a class lecture, "Hold up, Prowler."

P- "Prowl.*Puff*"

J- "There is a tiny issue with your plan. How's Huffer going to install a mailbox, when my team is cleaning up your office?"

H- "What happened to your office?"

P- "A misstep, and thank you Jazz for reminding me. Your team will also be helping Huffer install the mailbox.*Puffs*"

They turned to stare at each other.

J- "We are?"

H- "They are?"

P- "Yes, since Jazz and his team will already be in my office to clean it, it is logical that they lean a hand with a project that would help leave my office better than they found it.*Puffs*"

Jazz cocked his helm, "Boyscouts?"

Huffer frowned, "You think it's a good idea to have them help with the mailbox."

He was probably thinking, isn't the whole reason why you wanted a mailbox was to keep Jazz out of your office? And now you're letting him waltz right in?

P- "It will be a learning experience for the Ops team. The skills they gain from it can help them with future missions.*Puffs*"

J- "What kind of missions, Prowler?"

P- "Prowl and that's up to the future.*Puffs*"

Silence fell over the table. Groups of bots were starting to filter out of the room. Jazz and Huffer had finished their drinks but I was still working on mine.

J- "So Prowler, you're trying to delay the sour punch of your drink?"

P- "Prowl and it's not sour Jazz. It is rather sweet. You can try a sip if you like.*Puffs*"

Jazz recoiled away with a mock-disgusted look, "No thanks Prowler. I'd rather not be Puff the Magic Dragon thank you very much."

P- "Prowl.*Puff*"

H- "You two are so weird.*Prowl*"

Finishing my cube, I stood up. The smoke coming from my joints creating a blanket mist around me.

P- "Having a good evening, gentlemen. I'll see you both tomorrow.*Puffs*"

Before I stepped out of the room, I heard Huffer ask Jazz, "Boyscouts?"

* * *

Waking in my pod, I stretched. It hadn't me that long to get to my quarters to log off since there weren't too many bots walking the halls by then. I must still be gaming with my mouth open, my throat is sore again.

Heading over to dinner, I bumped into Hannah and Kaylie heading for their rooms.

Kar- "You guys done with dinner already?"

H- "Yep, what took you so long?"

Kar- "Last minute stuff I had to take care of. Have you done your workout yet, Hannah? I know that Kaylie out her's done."

Kay- "She says that she'll start working out tomorrow. Are you still planning to workout tonight?"

I shrugged, "Might as well, right? Can you shoot me when my next appointment is? I can't keep track."

Kay- "Sure, I'll send it tomorrow. *Yawns* but now I'm ready for bed. See you two later."

H- "Bye Karen."

Kar- "Bye guys."

In the mess hall, I found Brandon already half way through his meal for the evening.

"Hey, Brandon. Have fun today in the game?"

"Yep, how was yours?"

"Not too bad, but there was one hiccup."

"What kind?"

"Someone dropped in on me."

"Oh? Anyone I know?"

"Everyone knows him."

"Ok, you still have to work out tonight right?"

"Unfortunately, yay I do. I'll just do a half hour jog and call it a night."

"That sounds good. *Getting up* I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yep."

"K, night."

"Night."

I finished my own grab and headed out.

The gym was kind of close to the medbay. Possible so that if anyone out themselves injured that it wouldn't be that far to limp to Doc Raf's tender care. Thankfully, no one had hurt themselves yet with the equipment but you never know.

The gym had everything you would expect to find at a fancy mancy club gym that was over priced. Elliptical trainers, treadmills, weights, bikes, jump ropes, yoga balls, and mats galore.

The gym even had side rooms with clear walls for basketball, squash, martial arts, and gymnastics. That way we could spectate in safety.

We didn't have a swimming pool, but we did have a rowing machine along with a hot tube that had a river feature. The river mode on the tube created a strong enough current of water that when swimming you always stayed exactly in the center of the tub. Kind of cool, but I really want a real pool to stretch out in.

There were two people currently using the martial arts room. I would have said TaeKnowdo if it weren't for the fact that they had their hands up like a boxer and their suits turned into shorts. Mixed Martial Arts maybe? But of course, one of the figures had to lunge at the other and the fight turned into a wrestling match. The Russians. They started standing up but always ended up rolling on the ground.

Shaking my head at their antics, I head over to one of the Elliptical trainers. I took off my sleeves and the fabric below my knees. Setting them next to the trainer, I took out my Bluetooth headphones from my fanny pack and jammed them into my ears. Next up, was the hard part, getting my communicator to communicate with my Bluetooth so I could listen to a book while working out.

"Come on Come on," I muttered.

Finally, it connected and I was able to pull up my copy of The Lost Fleet:Dauntless by Jack Campbell. I had already read the book way back in high school, but when I found out that I was going to be Prowl I had gone on a rampage for material to study from.

Jack Campbell was actually John G. Hemry, a retired Navy Officer who decided to write science fiction books for a career.

I enjoyed his book the first time because I liked how he was able to describe the space battles. He was able to explain how space battles were fought in a three-dimensional plan and your tactics had to match that mindset. It was fun reading on space captions would have to have the ships go above, below, front,back, and both sides of the enemy to trap them.

But with my becoming the tactician of the Autobots, I remembered how his books were based on basic battle tactics and that it might be a fun way for me to learn them. That and it might help me figure out how to plan maneuvers with the fliers on both the Autobot and Deception sides. I have to remember that Screamer was a flier.

Turning on my book, I stepped onto the train and began my 30-minute jog.

* * *

And done.

Slowing down to a stop, I gently stepped off and just stood for a second. The feeling of still going forward, messing with my brain.

The Russians were still practicing, oddly enough.

Stuffing the pile fo fabric I had left on the floor into my fanny pack, I checked the time on my communicator. Holy Canoly, 10:00 P.M. Do those two know what time it was? It was way past my bedtime at least.

Me being the good Samaritan that I am, headed over to the martial arts room's wall and bang on it to get the Wes and Logan's attention. Wes paused long enough to smile and give me a thumbs up before Logan tackled him, setting off another rolling match with flying limbs.

Joy.

Tapping my left foot, I glance around. I don't think Wes notice my miming tapping a watch so I had to wait for those two to pause their match long enough for me to tell them the time.

Their gear was sitting on a bench that was just outside of the room's door. Two black duffle with white embroidered letters on the front. Each bag had the name of its owner so it was easy to see who's was who's. Sticking out of Logan's was the corner of a drawing pad.

I know that I shouldn't be snooping, but my curiosity always got the better of me when it came to drawing pads. I'd had developed the bad habit of trying to find out what my friends were drawing since I was really horrible compared to them. I could draw something that resembled what I wanted enough so it was understandable, but my friends could be manga artists with their skills so it was always fun to watch them.

I stepped closer Logan's bag and tilted my head so I could get a better angle. It was a pencil sketch of a scene from the Mess hall Gameside. Bots were sitting at tables, laughing, talking, and enjoying their cubes.

Bluestreak was off to the side babbling to a smiling Bumblebee and Smokescreen. Ironhide was talking to Ratchet while waiting for his cube to warm. The science bots had commandeered a table and there was a bunch of hand waving on their part. In the far back on the drawing, you could see Jazz smirking at a bot that he was sitting across form. That bot was me cause you could tell that that bot had door wings.

What caught the most attention for me was the one lonely figure in the right center of the drawing. Huffer.

He was sitting by himself, staring into his cube. Logan had really worked hard on the detail for Huffer's face cause you could see how depressed he was just by his optics alone.

This must be a scene from before I invited Huffer to join me for meal times. Now I'm really glad that I'm hanging out with him if he was that sad. No one should be that alone.

A heavy weight set itself on my left shoulder and a loud voice barged into my ear.

"What yay doing?"

"Baw!"

I jumped forward away from Wes. I was so absorbed in the drawing that I didn't notice him sneaking up on me. I never let people scare me let alone sneak up on me.

Turning, "Nothing."

Wes nodded his head at with a smirk, "Ah hun."

Logan walked around use and grabbed a water bottle and towel from Wes' bag. He tossed them over to Wes and then turned to his bag. He took out his drawing pad and shoved it into my face.

K- "Ah."

W- "Just take it, Karen. You obviously want to look at it. If he giving it to you, he doesn't mind."

K- "Ok."

Gingerly, I took the pad. Logan then turned away from me to focus on getting his own water and towel.

Careful to not accidentally rip out the pages, I leafed through the pad. There was Blaster playing a board game with Steel in the Medbay. Hound and Mirage walking down the hall. Wheeljack stumbling out of a smoking lab covered in ash. Cliffjumper standing on a table with a fist raised at Skyfire. Ratchet with his left hand stretched out in front of him aiming while his right had a deadly wrench ready to throw at whoever was the eyes that I was currently seeing these scenes through.

Not all of the pictures where Gameside, some of them were Earthside. The cleaner drone getting after Doc Raf on Monday night. The backs of player's heads as they crowded around Josh, him grinning evilly. The desert biome room of the Greenhouse with no one inside.

The last drawing made me stop cold in my tracks.

Wes leaned closer to me, "Do you like that one?"

It was a picture of me. Well not me me, but game me.

You could see the corner of Ratchet's shoulder on the left with one hand pushing something to the side. Optimus was striding behind him, carrying Prowl. The angle of the scene allowed the viewer to look between Prowl's raised doorwings, showcasing how tired Prowl looked.

Even though the picture wasn't colored, I could tell that Prowl was pale and his optics were just barely open. With his helm tucked into OP's shoulder like that, he looked very weak and insentient. Something to be taken care of.

Is that how people say me on Monday? No wonder, why everyone is over reacting. I look like that with one wrong breath of air that I would shatter.

Logan brought me out of my contemplation, "What do you think?"

K- "It's amazing. You really captured that scene. You're really good at drawing."

L- "I don't do commissions"

K- "I wasn't planning on asking you for one."

W- "He's saying that he can get you a copy of that if you want but he won't draw someone else's vision. *leaning even closer* Unless if you want to tell us who you are in the game."

Frowning at Wes, "No thank you. *turning to Logan* You don't have to copy it if you don't want to."

Logan shrugged, "Doesn't matter. Why'd you pull us out of the ring."

K- "Oh um. It's 10ish right now and I figure you guys might want to know."

W- "That was kind of you."

K- "It was no problem. Good night."

Feeling really uncomfortable, I basically ran out of the room. And was still running towards my room.

That was too much like a Sunstreaker and Sideswipe ambush.

Brake! They can't be Sideswipe and Sunstreaker. They aren't even related, how would the Twin Bond work if they aren't even related?

Thinking back to their jump scares of Ricky, running out of the Medbay from Kaylie's wrath, Logan's drawing pad, Wes pranking me with a salt shaker and penny, and them ambushing me just now. They were the Terror Twins, and I might have just slipped up.

I paused way too long on that scene. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out that I had been reliving that scene. The pounding ped falls, strobing lights, everyone shouting "What's wrong with Prowl".

I had just given Wes and Logan the biggest clue to who I was in the game.

"I am so way doomed."

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-Story): Deep Thought pulls to a stop and the gang jump out.**

 **A- "Alright guys I have an important announcement for everyone."**

 **Everyone- "Ok?"**

 **Allora cups her mouth with her hands, "There will be no Chapter Update next Saturday. I repeat, there will be no Chapter Update next weekend. Due to a Major Upcoming Exam, I'll be taking a week off from writing in order to properly study. I really really want to update next weekend but I gotz to study. I love you guys and you make this story great. Thank you for your support. I made this chapter just a little bit longer than normal because I will not be updating next week. Again, thank you for your support and Happy Easter."**

 **With that, Allora dives into her office to hide.**


	27. Ch26 Apples

**Author's Note (Mini-Story): Lancer walked over to where Thought and Cliffhanger were currently playing Go Fish. There were using holographic cards to help counter the size difference.**

 **L- "We you guys seen Allora?"**

 **C- "No, why?"**

 **L- "I thought she was supposed to update on Saturday but we didn't do anything."**

 **D- "I think your right. Let's head over and see if she forgot."**

 **The Gang headed over to the office car and knocked on the door. The door gently swung open, that was odd. Allora usually looked it when she was in homework mood.**

 **Lancer and Cliff tiptoed in.**

 **C- "Allora?"**

 **L- "Everything ok?"**

 **"Help meeeee...," was the weak reply to their calls.**

 **Lancer and Cliff rushed to find Allora pinned underneath a sea of paper and books. Again.**

 **Lancer tried to hide her laughter, "What happened?"**

 **A- "I got blindsided. Right after my test, three of my classes assignment major HW assignments within a week. Help up, I got a paper I need to work on."**

 **Cliff was carefully moving the pile off Allora, he was super strong for a Micro-minicon. "Would you be willing to take a break? You look like you need it."**

 **Allora stood up and promptly stumbled for a sec. "That might be a good idea. Plus this will help clear my head so I can focus on my cloning paper."**

 **Lancer and Cliffhanger jumped into the air with their fists raised, "Story Break!"**

* * *

Ch. 26 App. les

"Mayor Bubblegum! Mayor Bubblegum!"

Trying to keep my giant stack of paper from tumbling over, "What is it, Mrs. Sheryl Rabbit?"

"The town is being invaded!"

"By what?"

She pointed dramatically, "Them!"

The scene shifted. I was standing alone in a New York cityscape dress in a classic explore khakis suite. Craning my head upward, I was finally able to tell what was attacking my fair city.

Moneys. Two giant monkeys were swinging from the skyscrapers. One was banana yellow, the other apple red.

"Oh no."

Side's monkey noticed me and pointed me out to his brother. "Looky lue Sunny. A new toy!"

Nope. No. No. No!

Turning to run away, I heard Sunny's money speak. "Oh no, it's running away."

Red- "Get it before it gets away."

The sound of bombs falling, giant pieces of paper sticking out of the ground like ninja stars. Dodging the scenes for the Logan's sketch book and failed homework assignments.

Left, right, left , and right again. The same scenes repeating over and over again until I was trapped. Spinning in a circle, I found that I was surrounded by the scene where I was being carried by OP. But this time , he head on the body was my human head, not Prowl's familiar helm.

"Prowler. Prowler. Prowler."

A giant black paw reached down and grasped me around the waist. All of my organs dropped to my stomach as I was brought up to Side's face.

"Hi, Prooowwwllller. Sunny catch."

Spinning whirling colors, then an abrupt halt. Then all over again, overloaded with evil laughter.

Stop stop stop! I want out of this whacked out dream. I wanted to shout but I can't speak.

Another stop but there wasn't another throw. Slow I was brought level with Side's monkey face again.

"You're so cute. I could eat you right up."

Oh no.

Lifting me up, Side opened his mouth, his tongue hanging out.

He dropped me.

Once past the lips, Side's throat turned into a dark pit, one small pinhole of light at the top.

Come on. Wake up. Wake up. Why am I not waking up?

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a wing. Not a door wing, but a white angel's wings.

Fly. Twisting around, my wing began to flap, pulling me towards the light. Soon I flew out of the hole and found myself in an alien landscape.

Metal volcanoes, white hot at the top, an effect of just having exploded. Suddenly, I was falling again. The feathers from my wings leaving a trail behind me.

Ground rushing up towards me was interrupted by a giant hand. Instead of an abrupt stop, the hand moved with my fall. Gentle slowing down my fall so when I was just a few centimeter above the ground, I came to a gentle stop, like a car breaking.

Slowly, I was brought up to be level with the face of the mech that had caught me.

"Alpha Trion."

He smiled and nodded his helm to something in the distance. I turned to find ships lifting off into space. Heading for hopefully safer sectors of space. Heading away from a war-torn planet.

Even though we were far away from the cities, I could hear the cries of pain. The weeping for loved ones lost to the war and for having to abandon Cybertron to her lonely fate. Hope seemed to be lost.

In one city, a battle was still raging. Possible the battle for Simfur to distract Megatron from the Allspark and from the fleeing masses.

A pillar of light shot into the night sky, not over the city of Simfur.

"Tyger Pax," I breathed.

The Allspark had just been sent away.

A geyser erupted next to where Trion was standing, causing me to stumble back and land on my rump. The geyser formed an another smaller pillar of light. A blurry dark shape shot out and into the sky, mimicking the Allspark's path.

Beepbeepdeep! Beepbeepdeeep!Beepbeepdeep! Beepbeepdeeep!Beepbeepdeep Beepbeepdeeep!

Aurg! Again? Really? It was just getting good.

Rolling over, I found that the time was now 7:01. I really want to go back to sleep, but I should really get up. What do I have to do today?

Oh yay, it's Thursday. I have to get a physical both Gameside and Earthside. I have to get Special Ops to clean my office, spend all day in the Greenhouse, work in a workout, and stay awake for my graveyard shift. Yeah, might as well great the day.

Rolling away from my alarm clock, I tumbled off the bed in a controlled fall. Standing up, I noticed that I left my copy of the Convent of Primus on my desk. It was open at the part about Bee losing his voice box at Tyger Pax, in order to prevent Megatron from getting his claws on the Allspark.

Well that explained the dream, kind of. How in the world does one go from rampaging monkeys to Cybertonian history?

* * *

I basically inhaled my breakfast, this morning and rush back out the door before anyone had really sat down. I made to give Hannah and Kyle a quick hello and goodbye before ditching them, but I really couldn't stop for pleasantries.

I really wanted to avoid the Russians, a.k.a Terror Twins on Earth, for as long as possible. I know that it's silly to think that they could figure out who I was from one bad reaction to a picture. But I wouldn't put it past them.

The Terror Twins I've read aren't just some goofy dorks. No, they were predators that could spot frighten prey in an instant. If the Russians were anything like their franchise counterparts, then they would have spotted my fright and have already started to put the pieces together.

But maybe I could throw them off the trail. I could pretend to log in early and actually online late like I have been doing. It's kind of late to start asking others what it was like seeing Prowl injured, but if Logan brought it up again I could mention that I was at the other end of the ship when that happen or something. I might also be able to hack the system so that any comlinks send to Prowl while offline would go to my communicator Earthside. I would just have to see if the communicator could change my light voice into Prowl's deep and steady tone when sending calls into the Game.

But first things first, I have to log in and pretend to online in way later than I actually did.

I waived at Kaylie as I set myself into my pod.

Kay- "See you Gameside."

Kar- "See you."

* * *

My Dreamscape was as I left it. Nothing was wrong with it, but I know that Ratchet wouldn't call that a sign that the accident hadn't left it's mark on me. I know that he's right but I feel fine, and based off of my Dreamscape there was nothing to worry about. Sigh.

I've got a lot of time to kill until I'm supposed to meet up with Huffer and Jazz in the Messhall, what should I do?

Getting up from where I had been sitting next to the pool, I began to wander the forest. I might be able to access one of my files under Non-memory from here and read something while I wait.

Nope that tree is for my copy of Vision Screen 101, might want to update that for the crew. Possibly, but leave out the part where you can influence when bots think you online. That's my Ace at the moment and I don't want to reveal it.

The scan for the Crystalhouse that I've already copied and sent to Sciences.

Um... Not much else that I know what it is and that I'm willing to mess with. All the trees that currently represented something other than my memory and personality were the Dreamscape's representations for the apps were downloaded into this processor.

The GPS, subspace inventory, targeting, weapons gauge, systems health layout, chronometer, the comm for contacting the Earthside pagers, and the dreaded Auto Battle App.

The tree that represented the Auto Battle App was a Honey Locust. The tree's first features were it's compound leaflets (Looks like a bunch of tiny leaves on multiple branches but are actually all one leaf since they share the same petiole. If I don't make sense think palm frond that has branches where the leaf blades are and on the branches are extra leaves.). But that wasn't what made this tree menacing to me. It was the three inch long thorns growing along the grey-green trunk and branches. If that wasn't a clear sign to the app being not welcome in my processor, I don't know what was.

The fact that I couldn't get close to the tree to try to cut it down was just scary. That tree didn't belong in this forest. That tree was the only one that felt unwelcomed here. Turning away from the Honey Locust, I faced the Pine that represented the com to Earthside app.

Walking up to it, "I wonder what exactly are the features in this app."

Next to the huge pine, a tiny sapling next to it began to glow. Crouching down, I poke it.

 _The Earthside comlink is designed to help players communicate with Player inside the game while being outside the game itself. This app features a text engine and call function. You as a user have the option to change the call feature from it's standard voice changer to normal voice mode. This means that you can decide if you want Players inside the game to hear your character's voice instead of your own. This app doesn't give you the option to heard other Player's real voices. Unless they change their setting, you will hear their character's voice._

The words formed from the pollen kicked up from my poking the sapling disappeared. Cool, I could still work as Prowl offline. I just have to make sure that no one was around while I was using this feature otherwise, I'd be caught with my hand in the cookie jar. So to speak. Thankfully, I'll be all by my lonesome to try this out today.

It must be time to meet up with Huffer and Jazz by now right?

I forced myself to online fast and checked the chronometer. Oops, I'm late. Skipping the shower, I headed straight for the door and nearly collided with Hound, ah Hannah. Aurg, make up your mind already.

"Oh, good morning Prowl. Did you just online now?"

"Good morning, Hound. Yes, I did online just now. *puff*"

Oh joy, I still need to take my meds.

Setting off for the Mess hall, Hound fell into step with me.

"Huffer showed me the Crystalhouse, yesterday."

"What is your opinion on it?*puff*"

"It's kind of sad. I hold Huffer that we should fix it up, and he said that you're already working on it."

"That is correct. I was able to take an accurate scan of the room and send it over to Sciences for examination. They should be to develop a safe way to restore the house without causing an explosion. *puff*"

Hound laughed, "That's only if they keep Wheeljack out of the place. Otherwise kaboom! *hands mimicking a mushroom cloud from an explosion*"

Don't laugh. Don't laugh. "That would be unfortunate if Wheeljack managed to cause more damage to that section of the ship. We still have an incomplete map for the Ark.*puff*"

"Did you just make a joke?"

Did I? Ok, kind of maybe. "I don't believe so.*puff*"

"You know, I think you did just now."

Hound was grinning madly at the idea that I just made a joke, so I didn't try to correct him. Besides, it would have just confirmed the idea if I tried to rebuke it.

We walked into the mess hall and got our cubes. My sweeten meds for my air intake and Hound made something along the lines of an Iced Mocha.

Hound headed over to hang out with Mirage and Bee while I head over to Huffer and Jazz.

Hu- "Good morning, Prowl."

J- "Hi Prowler."

P- "It's Prowl, Jazz. Good morning Huffer. Did you inform your team about their assignment today?*puffs*"

Jazz crossed his arms. "I sure did Prowler." His visor dimmed and brighten long enough for him to just have sent a message out.

P- "You only informed them just now, Jazz.*puffs*"

J- "You sure about that?"

Groans emitted for the table the Hound, Bee, and Mirage were sitting at.

P- "I have witnesses.*puffs*"

Huffer snorted into his cube, "He got you Jazz."

Jazz merely grinned and leaned back as if it was no big deal that I had just made him.

J- "Hi Steel."

I glanced behind me and saw Steeljaw trying to sneak up on me. He was only a few paces away. How did he sneak up on me?

P- "Good morning, Steeljaw.*puff*"

Steel sat on his ramp, nodded his helm, and then tilted it like are you really trying to pretend that I didn't just sneak up on you?

P- "Has any of your siblings awoken this morning?*puffs*"

He merely turn towards Blaster and walked away, forcing everyone at my table to look. Blaster was settling down three steaming cubes of energon. Half standing up in one of the chairs was Ramhorn, Blaster's rhino cassetticon.

I wonder if Ramhorn will find a buddy to hang out with when Blaster is logged out. Steel seems to have picked me for some odd reason and if Ram is anything like Steel, he'll find a buddy.

P- "Jazz, I believe that it would be best if Blaster was excused from the exercise.*puffs*"

J- "I thought you said that the whole team had to be there."

P- "Yes, but Blaster is at a critical moment with Ramhorn. They're reestablishing their connection. Forcing Ramhorn into helping when he wasn't even aware would not be fair to him.*puffs*"

J- "So how is he is allowed out of clean up duty and the rest of the team who had no part be a part of clean up?"

H- "It doesn't really make sense, Sir."

P- "Special Ops was working on a training mission that shouldn't have lead to my office becoming cluttered. The entire team should have gone over things to be wary of before the mission took place. Anyone of the team members could have brought up the fact that it was possible that there could be ceiling grates structurally unstable for Bee. Part of being Special Ops is working together so accidents like that don't happen. Ramhorn wasn't registered as an active Special Ops agent at the team of the training mission. Since he needs Blaster at the moment, both of them will be exempted from today's lesson.*puffs*"

H- "Geez, your strict."

P- "Special Ops doesn't get second chances. One mistake could be the end.*puffs*"

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-Story): Thought pulls to a stop and the gang jumps off and stretches. Allora yawned like a Thylacine.**

 **D- "Hey Allora, do you think you'll be able to update this weekend?"**

 **A- "I hope so. But it is the time of the year where stuff starts to pile up with school. *Turns to the readers* Thanks for all of your support guys. If you want I could add a chapter status bar on my profile page to let you know if I'll be updating for the week. I want to, at least, be able to let you guys know if I'll not be updating without making a chapter be only an Author's Note. Let me know as a PS in your reviews what you think. And now for the reviews. You all can blame Cliffhanger for the cliffhanger."**

 **C- "Hey!"**

 **A- "Don't hey me. It was your idea to leave them hanging right when I needed to take a week off. Anyway, yep the twins are trouble. Frostover317, that was the exact reason why I loved writing that scene. So cool! We'll have to learn about Logan to find out if he drew fanart before now, and sadly Karen can't read the reader's questions since she is in isolation at the moment. I'm sure she appreciates your encouragement. Welcome on board What Lies Beyond, did you read the whole story in one go? Lol, I know right? I'm surprised that I'm the first to do this sort of thing. Yes, I watched Avatar, loved it. A book you might like is Ready Player One, it's a book about how people in 2024 will rely on VR to escape our dying world and search for the a hidden Easter Egg that will grant control to the entire VR word. Now I'm I forgetting anything? Hmm... Oh yay. I might be betaing another story in the future for a dear friend. He was inspired to write his own fanfiction and even created a mechifaction for his story."**

 **D- "So wait, not only do I have a little bro (Cliffhanger), I now have a cousin?"**

 **A- "Shh, Thought you weren't supposed to say that. But yes, you do. His name is Subconscious and transforms into a submarine."**

 **C- "Fun."**

 **A- "I know right? I'll let you guys know when the first chapter is released into the World Wide Web as OP awesomely called it."**


	28. Ch27 Hiding in Plain Sight

**Author's Note (Mini-Story): The gang was sitting on the grass when Allora came barreling out of her car.**

 **A- "Quick before the homework** **monster comes back."**

 **D and C - "Homework Monster?"**

* * *

Ch.27 Hiding in Plain Sight

After we had finished our cubes, Jazz, Huffer, and I rounded the Ops team. Jazz let Blaster and Ramhorn know that they were exempted from cleaning duty. We ended up having to track down Trailbreaker because Hound had forewarned him, causing him to skedaddle shortly after retrieving his cube.

We found him hiding out in Sciences. Most likely hoping that he could get out of cleaning duty if it looked like he was helping out on an important project. That was quickly sorted out and since Sciences was close to where the cleaning supplies were kept, Trailbreaker had to carry said supplies for trying to avoid work.

When we arrived at my office, I explained what I wanted while changing the code back to the default 1234.

P- "You are to clean the surfaces that were covered in dust. You are to stay our of my desk and to leave my datapads on the shelves. If an item was damaged, ask Huffer if it can be repaired. If it can seek his advice before attempting to repair the item. If it can't, ask Huffer were you can find a replacement for that item in storage. You are to help Huffer install a report drop box, and repair the ceiling grate. Now, I have changed the door code back to the default code so you all will be able to come and go without any difficulty. I'll be working from my quarters today, so if you need to contact me please either email or comlink. That is all."

The team scrambled into my office, moans and "What did you do, Bee?" were asked. I motioned to Huffer to stay behind for a sec.

"Huffer, I would like you to only be an observer during the clean up. Don't let them rope you into helping them out."

Huffer crossed his arms, "Ok, got as much from your little spiel. Anything else you want?"

"When repairing the ceiling grate, would ti be possible to use one that has the same weight capacity as the original?"

"Why would you want that? Isn't that why your office got messed up in the first place?"

"Yes, but if it could catch Bots it could catch..."

"Cons! *Gives me a funny look* Geez, you really think that the Cons will be crawling around in the vents."

"Yes, if our team can do that, why couldn't the Cons? Now if you'll excuse me, I have to visit Ratchet before I disappear into my quarters for the day."

* * *

My appointment with Ratchet was basically the same old. Yes, I'm taking my meds. Yes, my brain is still fine. No, I don't think you keeping me from practicing with Ironhide is a good idea. Have you figured out the virus protection thing yet? No? Well, we kind of need that.

Everything checked out normal, so let Ratchet know that I would be pretending to be online today and then vamoosed from the bay.

I send out a quick email letting bots know that I would be working from my quarters, they could hand me their reports at lunch and dinner if need be, and that they should email or com me if they needed to get in touch.

I logged out and headed over to visit Kaylie for my Earthside check up. The same questions were asked except the antivirus one. But Kaylie had to throw me a curve ball.

"You haven't noticed any signs of a cold have you?"

"Huh?"

"A cold silly. One of the guys came in this morning complaining about a sore throat. Have you had any cold symptoms recently?"

"No, not really."

"Not even a little sore in the throat?"

"Ok, sort of."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I never thought it was a big deal. How do I explain this? Do you normally sleep with your mouth open?"

"No."

"Have you ever slept with your mouth open for one night?"

"No."

"Well, I've done it a few times, and each time my mouth felt sore for an hour of two afterward. So I wouldn't call my sore throat a cold. I've probably just been sleeping with my mouth open."

"Well, I still think we need to check if you have a virus or not."

Kaylie turned away for a sec to retrieve a swab for a strep throat test. I decided to sit on my hands. I didn't want to react the same way last time I had this done.

"Do I really need to have my throat tested for strep? I'm feeling fine."

"Doesn't matter. We are enclosed in a small bubble with a small population. Both Doctor Raphael and I are worried that something will infect the whole team. We don't want a mini-epidemic on our hands. And now I think I know why Doctor Raphael said you'd be a problem child."

"I'm not a problem child."

"Then why are you sitting on your hands?"

"Swab then tell."

"Fine. Stick out your tongue and say ahh."

"Ahhh. Ak!"

Goosebumps rippled down my back as I tried to pull away from Kaylie's swab. Yep still as gagging as ever. Good thing I was sitting on my hands.

"There, now why are, um, were you sitting on your hands?"

She asked this as she was putting the swab into a test tube for analysis.

"I last time I had to have my throat swabbed, I grabbed the nurse's wrist and pulled it way from me."

"Well, that isn't the worst thing to happen to me while doing that. I had a kid puke on me once."

"You one, that nurse said the same thing after mine."

"It's the gag reflex. It's designed to save your life if you choke on something. I think your reaction is really good if your first instinct is to actively try to remove what's causing you to gag."

Getting off of the bed, "Yay, well I rather avoid grabbing nurse's wrists in the future. Am I go free to go? I have a lot of stuff to take care of in the Greenhouse today."

"Shouldn't you be resting? I thought you had a graveyard shift tonight."

"I can't nap during the day. Throws off my whole sleep schedule. It's better that I stay awake until tomorrow."

"Ok if you say so. And you're free to go. See you at lunch."

"See you."

* * *

As I settled down to work in the Greenhouse, all I could think about was how I wasn't the only one with a sore throat.

I really hope that the flu isn't going around. That is the last thing we need at the moment. I really don't want to rework this week's schedule.

My thoughts were interrupted when my communicator started playing the original Transformers theme song. That was the song I picked for calls coming in from Gameside. I also had it set to answer calls when I said answer.

"Answer... Prowl here."

"Hey Prowl, this is Sideswipe."

Why would Sideswipe be calling me? "Hello Sideswipe, what can I help you with?"

"Where are you?"

"Did you not receive the notice this morning?"

"I did, just wanted to confirm."

Uh oh. That isn't a good sign. "Sideswipe, if you attempt to set or pull a prank you'll be cleaning the entire Mess hall and the Communications deck."

"Too late. Prowler. Prowler. Prowler. Prowler."

"Sideswipe, it's Prowl. Desist this instant."

"Can't hear you. Prowler. Prowler. Prowler. Come on out Prowler."

"It's Prowler and you're not going to make me come out of my quarters."

"Prowler. Prowler. Prowler. Prowler. Prowler."

"Sideswipe, you're being a child. Prowl out."

The call ended since that was the phrase I set to turn of the communicator. Signing in relief at the silence, I went back to checking the aquaponics system when my communicator went off again.

"Answer...Prowl here."

"Prowler. Prowler. Prowler. Prowler."

"Sideswipe, you now have to clean the Mess hall and the Communications deck. Prowl out."

Again back to work and not too long after, Transformers theme song.

"Answer... Prowl here."

"Prowler. Prowler. Prowler. Prowler."

"Prowl out."

Transformers theme song.

"Answer...Sideswipe! Enough! Prowl Out!"

5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Transformers theme song.

"Answer... Sideswipe! I'm now adding the Science Labs to your..."

"Prowl, I'm not Sideswipe."

"Optimus Prime, I sorry sir. I thought you were someone else." And that was probably the whole point of Sideswipe's prank calls. Well played. But you realize this means war.

He chuckled, "I figured as much. How's working Earthside?"

"It's going well. Is there anything you need from me?"

"No, just checking up on you. What with the shock, Bee trying to land on your head, and everything else you have to deal with, I just wanted to see how you're doing."

"I'm doing ok. I do have a graveyard shift tonight, not sure if I'm looking forward to it."

"You know that you don't have to do it. You are the master of schedules for the team."

"A leader should only give order that they themselves would be willing to follow. Besides, it wouldn't be fair to last minute say I don't want to do this so you have to to someone else."

"If you say so. By the way, how is that your voice is that of Prowl's when I know that your Karen right now."

"I looked at the comlink app in my processor."

"Are you going to add this feature to the Processor 101?"

"Nope, the last thing we need is people tag teaming and playing Macro Polo with the com. It's better that only officers know about this feature and let everyone else figure it out."

He chuckled, "Alright, sounds good. Enjoy your day."

"You too, Optimus. Prowl out."

Transformers song. Sigh.

* * *

"Karen? You in here?"

Was that Logan? "Yay, I'm in here. Just give me a sec to crawl out of my hidy whole." Why is he here? I really don't want to deal with hiding from the Terror Twins right now. Well, maybe if I talk to him for a sec he'll leave me alone.

Crawling out from where I had been trying to track down a leak, I looked up to find Logan looking around the Greenhouse.

Dusting off my pants, "Hey Logan. What's up?"

He held out a folder, "I got your drawing."

Taking the folder, "Thanks, you know that you didn't need to do that right?"

"I know. *Shrugs shoulders* But I figured that it'd be nice to make you one since, I think Wes over did it last night."

"You always cleaning up his messes? *Opens folder* Oh wow, thanks."

It wasn't the scene of Optimus carry me. It was the Mess hall scene, but different. Huffer wasn't alone anymore. Instead, the scene was shifted so the viewer could get a better view of my table, and you could see Jazz and Huffer having a discussion with Prowl.

"Do you like it?"

"Yes, thank you. Why'd you?"

"Draw this instead of the Prowl's injured scene. Well, that scene seemed to freak you out. Why did it freak you out?"

Well, that's blunt, "It was the first time I say Prowl like that. I wasn't around to see him, so I only have second-hand accounts about what happen. I guess I thought that everyone was just exaggerating how bad Prowl looked."

He nodded his head and then the conversation fell into silence. Not much of a talker. I wonder if Sideswipe pranking me today was because Logan was around to be Sunstreaker for him in the game today.

"So, did you draw fanart before the contest?"

His eyes swept the room before answering me, "Yep, I've been drawing since I was 9. Starting drawing Transformers when Cybertron came out."

Yeah, something we can actually talk about, "Cool, Cybertron was what got me into Transformers. Which bot was your favorite?"

"Crosswise."

Crosswise, one of the oldest bots on Earth. He was basically a noble that decided to protect early humans from his partners that turned evil. That kind of cool that Crosswise was his favorite bot. Maybe him playing as Sunstreaker meant that we would get a kinder version of Sunstreaker.

"Cool. Mine was Landmine."

Landmine, a yellow bulldozer who was a nature loving bot who had helped train some of the Autobots. He was the first bot the kids on the show met. Because of how old he was, the kids ended up having to help fix he often.

"Makes sense. He was one of the few bots that actually like nature, right?"

"Yep, I kind of tend to like bots who are into nature. Guess it's just one of my quirks."

Transformers theme song.

I grabbed my communicator from my belt and groaned. It was Sideswipe, again.

I decided to ignore it and placed the communicator back on my belt.

"Aren't you going to answer it?"

"I don't feel like talking with them."

"Why?"

"I'm mad at them."

"Ok."

Silence. That seemed to happen a lot around me. What time was it anyway? I glanced at the room's wall clock. It was 10 minutes to noon.

"Do you want to head over to lunch? It should be starting soon."

He shrugged and started off. Well ok then.

* * *

I logged into the game quick so that I could get a cube before I eat Earthside. But I first, I had to run the Sideswipe gauntlet.

I threw my sensors out so I could see if there was anything amiss outside my room. The only thing outside was some bot sitting on the floor.

Did he really?

Opening the door a crack and sticking my helm out, I spotted Sides offline. Oh, this was too perfect.

Comming, "Jazz. Huffer"

J- "Hi Prowler. What's up?"

H- "Hello Prowl.

P- "It's Prowl. Are you two going to join me for lunch today?"

H- "Yes."

J- "Of course my mech."

P- "Well, you two should pick up some supplies before coming over to my quarters."

I sent them an email of the supplies we would need.

H- "Holy cannoli"

J- "Just what are you up to, Prowler?"

P- "Prowl and it's just some just deserts."

* * *

I walked out of the VR room with a big old grin on my face. With Wes offline till dinner, he wouldn't know what's happening until it was too late. This was just too perfect.

This was going to be so good and I couldn't wait for dinner.

Kyle run up to me, "Hey Karen, you ready for lunch?"

"Starving."

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-Story): Deep Thought pulls to a stop and everyone jumps off so he can transform. He then promptly sits down and Cliffhanger joins him.**

 **D- "Did we get away from the Homework Monster."**

 **A- "Sorry Thought. I didn't mean to scare you. I was joking that I had a short break from homework so we should get a chapter done quick."**

 **C- "Not funny."**

 **L- "Ok guys, we have three reviews. Allora."**

 **A- "Ok, first for What Lies Beyond. I haven't read Epic in years, there's a three book in the series called Edda I think. I'll keep an eye our for Eye of the Mind. *Giggle* I've never played Animal Crossing. Miss Sherly Rabbit is a mix of random characters that I remember from my childhood. Rabbit from Winnie the Pooh, Shirly Temple, and possible Piglet. The characters in Karen's dreams are usually just random things I throw together.**

 **Now, Animekitten99. Oh dear, I hope not. If you ever slept talked your friends could record your dreams and send them to AFV. They'd probably win the 10,000 too.**

 **adephle24, that's very sweet of you hon but I would never wish my workload on anyone else. I'm glad too that I could share my mini break with you guys."**


	29. Ch28 Run Buddy

**Author's Note (Mini-Story): The gang was setting up to go when Allora stepped out of her office. She looked really wary at the moment. Not a good sign.**

 **Deep Thought paused what he was doing, "Allora, what's wrong?"**

 **Allora sign and covered her eyes, "I have to have to make a reply to a review."**

 **Cliffjump shared a funny look with Lancer, "Why is that a bad thing?"**

 **L- "Yay, why is that? I didn't see any reviews that weren't that great."**

 **A- "That's cause I hide it from everyone, but now it's time for me to reply to it."**

 **Allora turned to face the readers, "To Guest, a.k.a Frustrated Guest, thank you for your constructive criticism. I'll keep that in mind for future chapters. I found that your last review was what you said you wouldn't do and that it was disrespectful. Yes, I understand that way I write group conversations doesn't makes sense and wouldn't be found in a book. The way I write group conservations is based on what we focus on in conversations. Unless a motion is pronounced or an inflection of the voice is extreme, the only thing we really focus on is the words. That is what I try to convey in my writing. Unless Karen notices these things in a conversation, they don't appear in my writing. I'm sorry if it's sometimes hard to follow the conversation and I will work hard to make it easier in the future. This is a style of writing, nothing more. I'm sorry that this bugged you to the point that your tone in the reviews changed from respectful guidance to hurt full criticism. I have no idea if you're still reading this story but I want you to know that I understand why you feel the way you do and I respect that. I just don't agree with how you went about it. I wish I didn't have to answer your review in public. I would rather have a private respectful conversation over PM instead. I wish you the best where ever life takes you.**

 **To all of my other readers out there, where ever you are in the world, know that I'm glad to share this work with you. I read every review, they mean so much to me. Whenever you point out something I miss, I'm so thankful for the help. You all make this story better than it could have been on my own. You give me inspiration. I want this to be a safe place for everyone and I want you to know that if you come to me with a concern, I will listen. Thank you all for your support. Hugs and Strength to everyone wherever you are."**

* * *

Ch. 28 Run Buddy

Sitting down with David, Kyle, Brandon, Hannah, and Kaylie, I braced myself for the 411 Gameside antics. Brandon was the one to set the ball rolling.

B- "Does anyone know when we'll be able to walk around outside the ship in the game?"

Kay- "No idea, I think the only the bots working on the door know for sure."

H- "Wouldn't Optimus and the other officers know? Prowl would have definitely asked the Constructibots when the door would be clear for transformation training."

Kar- "Isn't Ironhide the one in charge of training?"

H- "Yes and no. When I worked with him yesterday. He said that Prowl got on his case to start training bots the first day of testing. I don't think he's too worried about transforming at the moment. All he taught me was how to clean a gun."

Ky- "He didn't do any target practice with you?"

H- "No, did he with you?"

Ky- "Yep, what about everyone else?"

D- "He did with me. I just had to retake a gun safety test, first."

Kay- "I was told to read some manuals and come back later."

B- "I did some light boxing with him."

Everyone turned towards me. Uh oh.

Kar- "What?"

D- "What did you do with Ironhide when it was your turn to train?"

Blast it! Thank Ironhide and Ratchet. You too basically set up a bear trap for me. How am I going to get out of this without gnawing my leg off? Well, David just said that he got to do some target practice after retaking a gun safety test and I just happen to have a gun safety license.

Kar- "I have a gun safety licenses back home, so Hide just had me retake the test and gave me the go ahead to do some target practice."

B- "So I'm the only one to do basic hand to hand with Hide?"

Ky- "Sounds like it. Why did David and Karen have to retake the gun safety test? I didn't."

D- "I got my license years ago. He probably just wanted to refresh me on the safety bits."

Kar- "Same with me. I got my license in junior high. I also got a survival bandanna from that class."

Everyone- "What's a survival bandanna?"

Kar- "A hunter orange bandanna that has survival tips and tricks printed on it. That way, if you get lost while in the woods, you know what to do and people are more likely to spot you since the bandanna is orange."

H- "Handy."

Kar- "Yep."

Kay- "Did anyone see Ramhorn and Blaster today?"

D- "Sure did. It's great that Blaster's friends are coming online."

Ky- "What is the relationship between Blaster on the Cassettibots? Is he some sort of nanny bot or something?"

Kar- "You would have to ask him that."

Kay- "I'm sure Ratchet explained his role for the Cassettibots, but I don't think that explains the relationship between him and them."

D- "Who volunteers as tribute to ask Blaster what's his relationship to the Cassettibots?"

B- "Nose goes!"

Reacting on instinct, I poked myself in the nose just before Kaylie realized what had happened. She was the only one at the table not touching her nose.

Kay- "What just happened?"

Hannah laughed, "Nose goes. Whoever is the last person to touch their nose has to go do the thing that no one wants to do."

B- "Which means you have to go ask Blaster what's his relationship to the Cassettibots."

Kay- "I'm not doing that! That wasn't fair guys, I've never heard of Nose Goes."

Kar- "You never played Nose Goes?"

Kay- "Nope, the kids in my town just said Not It and run away, the kids left standing there had to do it. Speaking of which, Not It."

Kaylie grabbed her plate and dashed way from the table. I think we were all blinking at what just happened.

Kar- "Well guys, it's been fun but I've got to get some stuff done today still. See you later."

Everyone started to get up after that. I don't think anyone would ask Blaster his relationship status with the Cassettibots anytime soon.

* * *

I figured it was best to get my daily workout done with after lunch since I didn't want to do another late night run with the Russians.

I'd had already filled my Russian interaction quota for today. I didn't want a repeat of last night with them.

Walking into the gym, I found Jessica stretching by the elliptical trainers.

"Hi, Jessica."

"Hey, Karen. Getting your daily workout over with too?"

Chuckle, "Yep, Doc Raf won't let me call my work in the greenhouse real exercise."

"I hear that. If you were lifting 50-pound bags 24/7 I would call that work but I don't think you're doing that. Are you?"

"No, but moving some of those pots and tables is close enough."

"But no cigar, right?"

"Unfortunately. You planning on going for a jog?"

"Yep, want to join me?"

"Sure, want to listen to an audio book while we run?"

"Got any good ones?"

"Let's see I got Enchanted Inc., Ender's Game, The Books of the Raksura, Lord of the Rings, Red Planet, My Side of the Mountain, Ready Player One, Narnia, Harry Potter, and The Dragonriders of Pern."

"What's the Dragonriders of Pern? Some sort of fantasy novel like Eragon?"

"No, actually it's a science fiction by Anne McCaffrey. It's about a world colonized by people who genetically engineered fire breathing dragons to fight spores that fell from the sky. The first part of the series takes place many generations after the founding of the colony. Everyone has forgotten that they came from Earth and that they made the dragons. It's a cool series."

"Sounds interesting. Why don't you plug it into the load speaker."

"Sure thing."

The first words of Dragonflight wafted over the speakers as we began to jog.

* * *

We were coming to the end of our run and were just walking the last bit of it. Jessica signaled that she wanted the book paused, so I did.

"What do you think of the book so far."

"Interesting, kind of slow but interesting. They seem like they are in the medieval ages or something."

"That tends to happen when civilization is too focused on surviving the end instead of preserving their knowledge and tech."

"I guess. *Bits her lip* Hey Kar, can you keep a secret?"

"Sure? What's wrong?"

"I think I know who someone is in the Game."

"You do?"

"I think so."

"Are you thinking about confronting them about it or something? Cause that might not be that great of an idea."

"No, it's not that."

Jessica stepped off her trainer and I followed suit. We sat down and stretched again.

The silence was getting uncomfortable so I started up again, "So?"

"I'm actually kind of worried for the Player."

That didn't sound good, "Worried in what way?"

"Well, I think their character is too much like them in real life. I sometimes forgot if I'm interacting with the character or them personally in the Game. It's scary. It's like looking at a mirror image of someone at a carnival. They may look different, but you can tell that they are the same person. I don't think the Game is good for them."

That was scary. At least for me, others could tell when I was in character and when I was myself. Doc Raf, Kaylie, and whoever was OP's player could tell when I was in Prowl mode or not. And I could tell when they were in character or not. But that was only cause we talked about Real Life things. We stopped pretending we were part of the Transformers' Universe long enough to acknowledge that we were humans within a game.

"Is your character in a position to talk to them about how you feel."

"Kind of. But with Prowl's scheduling, it might be hard to talk them anytime soon."

Oops. "Maybe you can talk to him about switching shifts with someone else?"

"Maybe but there's that whole "don't tell people who you are thing."

"I'm sure he can keep a secret. He's a smart bot. I bet you 20 bucks that he has already figured out 5 players already and is keeping their secrets. Besides, it wouldn't hurt to talk to him about it, right?"

"I guess. You promise not to tell right?"

I smiled, "Cross my heart *crosses heart*, hope to die *arms crossed over chest while leaning back*, stick a needle in my eye *fakes poking eye out* Ow"

Jessica laughed and the unease drained away. This must have had been bugging her a lot. I'm glad that she could talk to me about it.

"Hey, Jess?"

"Hmm."

"As you spend more time with whoever it is, you might start to notice the differences. Who knows, maybe we're getting worried over nothing and they are just really good at acting or something."

Jessica smiled, it was a small one but it was there.

"You could be right Kar. I really hope that they are just a really good actor."

* * *

I was finishing up on the aquaponics system when Hannah popped her head in. The cleaning of my office must have been done for the day.

"Hey Karen, you done in here yet?"

"Just about. What time is it?"

"A little bit past 2:30. You want to help me out in the temperate forest biome? I think one of the light fixtures in broken and I need a spotter."

"Hold your horses, just let me get out from under this death trap."

Crawling out, I had to blink a few time to get used to the bright lights of the greenhouse. Standing I stretched my to full length, on my tip toes. So ready for a nap.

Hannah laughed, "Did you manage to get all of the leaks while hibernating under there?"

"Yes and I wasn't hibernating."

"Sure you weren't."

Mumbling behind her, "I wasn't hibernating. I was working." And dealing with annoying Russians who were the Terrors placed on Earth and being Jessica's confidant. I had a very busy day thank you very much.

Am I being cranky? I must really need a nap if I'm feeling like this, but I have to stay up all night tonight for my graveyard shift. I still have to do to that. Joy.

We walked through the prairie, wetland, desert, and the Japanese garden before finally hitting the temperate forest room. This room was the largest room in the entire greenhouse. The ceiling 50 ft in the air and the floor space was about ½ an acre in totally, just enough for a few good sized trees.

We had white and red oaks, poplars, ciders, maples, and a few others. The trees were shorter than their native cousins because of the red light system we had in place. The trees didn't have to compete for light so they stayed short enough to fit underneath the 50 ft ceiling. Underneath the miniature trees were pathways, and forest floor vegetation like ferns, grass, shrubs, and vines.

This was the one room in the entire greenhouse that you could completely forget that you were trapped underground. The trees and the vegetation completely blocked the metal walls and rock ceiling above.

"So Hannah, where is this broken light fixture?"

"It's this way," she said just as she began to walk down one of the paths branching away from the door.

I followed but slowed when we passed by our Honeylocust.

This tree was of the thornless variety. In nature, the Honeylocust comes in both the thorned and thornless types. The most popular of the two is the thornless because a. it doesn't have any thorns and b. the Honeylocust is a pretty sturdy tree that can put up with a lot of things.

But when we passed it, the image of the Honeylocust in my Dreamscape was superimposed over the real tree. Not a very fun reminder of the thing rooted in my processor. I shivered and then hurried to catch up with Hannah.

We rounded a turn and came up to our Burr Oak and I knew that this was where the light was broken. Not because it was dark. It was because Hannah had already set the tree up for ascending.

She the anchor set, the ascending line in a loop so she wouldn't run out of rope, and all of the knots in the proper places along with the clamps, carabiners, and pullies.

As she got into her harnesses, helmet, and gloves, I double checked the knots and ropes. I didn't want anything to go wrong and I also wanted to review how to set this type of system up.

I have done high ropes courses, repelling, and rock climbing in the past. But that didn't make me a certified climber by any means. I barely remember how to put on a harness. The one thing I remember from my Venture Crew days was how to spot a climber and how to help them down if they got stuck.

But the technique I had learned didn't work for this type of set up. I learned how to feed the line through my own harness clip to help the climber down. For this system, you had to feed the line through the double lock carabiner at the anchor point slowly so the climber won't fall to fast.

I may know and understand the technique but I never have practiced it with professionals so I wasn't too comfortable with it.

But I shouldn't have been worried, Hannah made the climb just fine. I only had to attach the gear she needed for the lights to a second line and send it up her way.

We headed out of the greenhouse and stashed the climbing gear in Huston's dry closet. We doubled checked the gear for wear and tear before locking the closet and heading out for the night.

I grabbed Logan's drawing form the desk as we heading out the door.

"What's that you got there, Karen?"

"Just a drawing Logan gave me."

"He gave you a drawing?"

"Yep felt bad about Wes sneaking up on me the other night."

"How'd he sneak up on you?"

"I wasn't paying attention. How else would someone sneak up on me?"

Chuckle, "Your right. Hey, guess what I did in the Game today?"

"Um... Play I Spy with Special Ops?"

"Nope, we ended up cleaning Prowl's office. I have no idea how Bee and Steel got it so messy. Took forever. I ended up helping Huffer install a mailbox and..."

"Hold up, why was Huffer there and why a mail box?"

"I don't know, Prowl wanted a mail box and Huffer was the bot to help with that. Anyway, after that Jazz assigned a special mission for us."

"What kind of mission? Should I even know about it?"

She grinned, a truly evil thing, "You'll know it when you see it."

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-Story): Deep Thought pulled to a stop and the gang jumped off to help him unhitch from the other cars. Allora disappeared in her office before the others could say anything.**

 **L- "Is Allora going to be ok."**

 **D- "I think she's just worried if she worded that reply ok. She didn't want to get into an argument with that reviewer. She also must have been sitting on it this past week. Must have been very stressful for her not being able to settle the matter over PM."**

 **C- "She took it better than I would have."**

 **D- "Yeah, I think that goes for me too. *Turns to the readers* Hey guys, we really do love your reviews and respect your opinions. I know that whenever someone approaches Allora with a concern, she drops everything to find the issue and try to fix it. You're opinions mean that much to her. Hugs and Strength."**

 **Lancer and Cliffhanger together, "Hugs and Strength."**


	30. Ch29 Banana

**Author's Note: Allora came out of her office with a bright smile on her face. She only had a couple of weeks left of school and then she would be free, for a while at least. Deep Thought, Cliffhanger, and Lancer were playing Kings in the corner on the grass.**

 **Allora- "Hey guys."**

 **Everyone- "Hi Allora."**

 **Deep Thought- "Feeling better?"**

 **Allora- "Much. *Turns to the readers* Thank you all for your support. I've sent you replies for last chapter's reviews over PM if you have a profile. I would like to give a special shout out to Guest reader praxian. Thank you for your review. It did make me smile and I am fired up. Let's get on with the show."**

* * *

Ch.29 Banana

Onlining, I rolled off the bed and did a full body stretch. My wings extending beyond were their normal position in the game. Boy does stretching after waking up feel amazing, more matter the form.

Hannah and I had decided to get our Gameside dinner before meeting everyone for the real thing Earthside. Sure I'd have to log out and log back in but that didn't matter. It might even help hide that I was Prowl if I timed it right.

Finishing with my stretch, I heading over to the door to find Jazz and Huffer waiting for me outside. Sideswipe was long gone, Huffer was trying to hide a canary eating grin, and Jazz just flat out didn't even try to hide his smirk.

Jazz- "Hi Prowler."

Huffer- "Hello Prowl."

Prowl- "Prowl. Hello, Huffer. Was the mission a success?*puffs*"

Jazz- "Went off without a hitch and I think you'll be pleased with the results."

I had to hide my grin on the inside, "Then we should make our way over to the Messhall."

As we headed towards the Messhall, laughter and music started to waft to our audios. It was a tune that I think I'll always remember. But it was slightly altered.

"980 Monkeys were jumping on the berth. One fell off and bumped his helm. Ada called the Ratchet and the Ratchet said. No more Monkeys jumping on the berth or I'll glue their afts to it.

979 Monkeys were jumping on the berth..."

Oh dear, that might be a problem for the other bots. I know that would get on my nerves.

We walked in on bots rolling on the ground or trying to support themselves on the tables and chairs scattered around the room.

Sideswipe was standing in the middle, where it sounded like the music was coming from. He closed his pie hole when we came in. The music stopped too.

He had what looked like monkey ears glued to the sides of his helm. The words "I love bananas" were painted in white across his front.

A look of panic crossed his face and he opened his mouth, "1000 Monkeys were..."

Oh, that's clever.

A comlink from both Huffer and Jazz appeared. I answered.

Prowl- _"Prowl here."_

Jazz- _"We know Prowler. You're standing right next to us."_

Prowl- _"Prowl. How did you..."_

Huffer- _"Blaster figured it out today. The speaker is on his throat, right next to where his voice box is. It cancels his voice and makes it look like he is singing that song. Blaster has a remote connection to it, so he can reset the song or allow Side's to think he is getting close to the end."_

Prowl - _"Same technology as noise canceling headphones?"_

Huffer- _"According to him and the Cassettibots. The tech was already in his room, along with a manual."_

As bots started to sober up from their laughter, a line began to form in front of the energon bar so we headed over. I glanced out of the corner of my optic and had to keep myself from laughing out loud.

Sideswipe had tire hubs that were painted bright blue, glued to his aft along with a think black cable for a tail. The words, "Poo bombs come out this end," were painted on his back with an arrow pointing down to his butt.

Jazz- _"Why don't you two get seats while I get the energon."_

Huffer- _"Sure. The orange powder and one tiny silver pebble in mine please."_

Prowl- _"Thank you, Jazz._ _Manisidian_ _in my cube, please."_

We sat down and as Jazz came over with our cubes, a giant banana walked into the room.

Banana- "Sideswipe, what the slag is going on!"

It was a good thing that I hadn't had a chance to drink my cube yet, cause I would have probably spewed it all over.

It was Sunstreaker. He wasn't wearing a costume or anything like that. His actual body was shaped like a cartoon banana with skinny limbs. Giant cartoon eyes completed the look.

Sideswipe started laughing at Sunstreaker, "Thou, thou, thou, thou, thou."

Sunstreaker- "Side, shut your mouth. Comlink. Now!"

Sideswipe stopped talk verbally and start gesturing to whatever he was saying over the com. Sunstreaker got a really confused look on his face.

Sunstreaker- "What do you mean I look like a slagging banana!"

He began looking and patting himself down. Trying to see what Sideswipe was trying to tell him. When he got to the bottom end of the banana, everyone lost it. It looked he had his hands on his hips while wiggling back and forth. He glared at everyone.

Sunstreaker- "Stop laughing!"

Everyone quieted down to muffled giggles. I had long since started biting my tongue to prevent myself form laughing my helm off so I didn't have to worry about ruining Prowl's image.

Sunstreaker turned back to his twin and put hands where his hips should be.

S- "I don't see anything Sideswipe. Why don't you get over here and show me what you're talking about... What do you mean you can't? Get your butt over here."

Sideswipe shuck his helm and made a series of random gestures. But that only seemed to infuriate Sunstreaker even more, cause he started marching full steam at him. He walked right into an invisible wall.

Bouncing off, Sunstreaker stumbled and fell onto his behind and appeared to roll back and forth on his banana back. Sideswipes smacked his hand to his forhelm. The force field had purplish lines radiating out form where Suntreaker had bumped it, like a rock dropping into a pound. The lines soon disappeared and the field was invisible again.

Sunstreaker- "What the slag? *Standing back and punches the field causing the lines to appear again*"

Sunstreaker shared a look with Sideswipe for a heart beat before both twins started banging the field in hopes of breaking it.

Jazz, Huffer and I were still on the comlink so I figured now was a good time to ask them my questions.

Prowl- _"I don't recall a force field and holograms in my mission parameters."_

Jazz- _"You also only had Sides being pranked. I think it was well worth it to have Sunny pranked too."_

Prowl- _"How were Trailbraker and Hound able to perform their abilities to this extent? They haven't had ample time to perfect their special skills."_

Huffer- _"They aren't using the naturally installed systems in their forms. They had gear related to their skills in their rooms to work with. Hound just had to connect a hologram projector to a computer and downloaded a banana picture. Trailbreaker had a field generator already set up for a single bot. Probably a last resort shield in battle. Said it would last long enough to him to reload a weapon if someone was firing energy bolts at him."_

Prowl- _"How did were you able to get the hologram projector on Sunstreaker? According to the GPS, he was in his quarters while he was logged off."_

Jazz- _"We hacked the door and had Mirage put it on him just incase Sunny's player decided to log in early for dinner. Lucky enough, he took his full scheduled break."_

Prowl- _"So the entire team was involved then?"_

Jazz- " _Yep. Bee and Steeljaw were the bots to suggest adding Sunstreaker to the prank. They had so much fun that they asked who we were going to prank next."_

Uh oh, is that what Hannah was talking about before we signed on? I thought she was talking about the prank I planned with Jazz and Huffer.

Prowl- _"Do you have another prank target in mind?"_

Huffer- _"If you do. I want in. This was fun."_

Jazz- _"We aren't planning a prank. It's more like a Knarp. (k-nar-p)"_

Prowl- _"Knarp? What is that?"_

Jazz- " _The opposite of a prank."_

Well, that's helpful. Maybe it's a prank that doesn't poke fun at people but instead makes them feel better. Like covering their bed in sticky notes with kind words of inspiration? Hopefully, they'll Knarp Huffer if that's what it means.

The field surrounding Sideswipe sputtered out of existence cause both twins to bopped each other in the noggin.

Sunstreaker- "Slaggit, Sideswipe. You scratched my paint."

Sides just ran around his twin out the door. His laughter still sounding like the modified Monkeys Jumping on the Bed song. Sunstreaker ran after him, shouting how he was going to scratch every inch of paint off his hide.

Huffer and Jazz laughed out load along with everyone else. I simply hid my smirk behind my cube. Bots finally turned to their cubes now that the show was over.

Jazz- "Did you enjoy yourself, Prowler?"

Prowl- "Prowl, and it was satisfactory."

Huffer- "Well, I hope so. We did put in a lot of effort for you."

"So it was you three that pranked Sideswipe and Sunstreaker."

All of us at the table, "Prime!"

Jazz and Huffer were ready to bolt and I was frozen in my seat. Optimus wave for us to stay seated and joined us.

Optimus kept his voice low, "That was a well thought out prank and well worth it. I know that I enjoyed it. Though, I am worried about a prank war being declared by the Terror Twins."

Jazz follow his lead, "That's ok, Boss Bot. It will be Special Ops' way of training for the next few weeks. Voiding getting pranked and pranking them even better than last time."

Optimus- "But what about Prowl and Huffer? Last aren't Special Ops and the Twins trying to prank them would distract from their work."

Prowl- "I wasn't involved in the prank and they have on evidence that Huffer was involved."

Huffer- "What do you mean you weren't involved? You planned it."

Prowl- "I explained a prank that had similar properties. You, Jazz, and the rest of Special Ops took it to the next level. Therefor, I wasn't involved."

Optimus- "Can't the Twins check the cameras to see who pranked them?"

Jazz- "Huffer stayed in his work shop making Sides' costume while my team got everything else ready. The only thing they'll see is my team asking Huffer to make the costume without knowing what it's for."

Prowl- "If they happen to see us discussing something outside my quarters, they will likely assume that we are discussing something unrelated since we normally talk when we are having lunch."

Optimus- "Well, no more pranks from you three for a week. Prowl, will you still be enforcing Sideswipe's punishment tomorrow or will you drop it?"

Prowl- "That would imply to him that I was involved in the prank and he wouldn't learn his lesson."

Huffer- "Wait, is that why you asked Jazz and I to help you prank Sideswipe?"

Prowl- "In a way, yes."

Jazz- "What did he do to deserve your wrath?"

Prowl- "Optimus knows and that's all that matters."

Optimus- "I don't know the full story. *Leans on his fist* Enlighten us."

Oh great. Thanks, Op. I really wanted to tell Jazz and Huffer what Sideswipe did all day to me.

Prowl- "Sideswipe kept clogging the comlink with chatter and would not stop after multiply cease and desist orders."

Huffer- "So that's why you were calling him a chattering monkey."

Jazz- "What was he saying?"

Prowl- "Classified."

Jazz- "Aww, come on Prowler. You can tell us."

Prowl- "Prowl and no."

Jazz- "Prowwler."

Prowl- "Prowl."

Jazz- "Prowwler."

Prowl- "Cease and desist."

Jazz's visor brighten at that and he simply leaned back in his chair and smirked. Oops.

Optimus finished his cube and stood, "Well, good night gentle men."

All of us said goodnight and head our own separate ways. I hid in the office since I had to log back in after diner away.

* * *

After having diner with the gang, I made it back to the VR room. Four pods were currently sealed. That was two more than the players scheduled for the graveyard shift. But since this was the first week of gaming, Inferno and Redalert were staying online long enough to inform each graveyard shift how to monitor the cameras.

Deciding to ignore the nameplates on the other pods, I crawled into my own and quickly logged on.

I left my office and made my way to the security room. Inferno and Redalert were already going over the controls with Seaspray and Powerglide.

All of the walls were covered in monitors, with a console making underneath them. There were three chairs, one facing one wall each. Powerglide and Seaspray had already claimed their seats with Powerglide having to raise his chair so his helm was above the control console.

Redalert- "Why are you late?"

I paused long enough to check my internal chronometer and then sat down in my chair on the left.

Prowl- "My apologies. I was delayed at diner."

Inferno- "It's cool. We were just starting."

Redalert- "As I was saying, each camera has five screens devoted to them. Normal, Nightvision, Infrared, Ultraviolet, and X-ray. This should find any and all cloak Decepticons, if not they are using something outside the normal light spectrum. Along with the cameras, we have monitors connected to the comm systems, Teletraan-1 data usage, motion detectors, layer system, and radio."

Inferno- "The each has it's own separate set of computers so intruders would have to disable multiple systems in order to completely put us in the dark. If Ravage got in the air ducts and disconnected the security there, we would still have the base's normal systems."

Redalert- "The layout of the control panel corresponds with the monitors on the walls. You have 30-second rewind, pause, and continue for the camera. There is a flag button for each system for when you spot something out of the normal pattern. Everything is recorded and saved on a separate computer system than Teletraan-1."

Inferno- "With this month being a freebie, everyone should get the chance to learn what looks normal for the system before we really have to start worrying about Cons trying to get in."

Well, this was going great so far. Redadlert hadn't mentioned the Cons planting bombs or sneaking on base yet.

Redalert- "Unless the Cons are playing us and are actually hacking the system to make it look normal when ever they are on base and for the system to look haywire when they are off it. They could be spying on us this very minute."

And I thought too soon. Great.

Inferno rolled his optics, "Chill Red. The Cons aren't on base."

Red whirled on him, "You don't know that! They could be listening this very minute. Learning our security secrets."

Inferno- "Ok, I think you've had enough game time for today. I'll leave it to you fellas. Come on Red."

Inferno grabbed Redalert's hand and dragged him out of the office, with Red still arguing that the Cons could really be on base.

Seaspray bubbly voice sounded off, "Let's get to work. We got a long night ahead of us."

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-Story): Once everyone disembarks, Allora pulls out a megaphone from office and turns to the readers.**

 **Allora- "Guy everyone. I will not be updating next weekend cause of studying. But this should be the last time I have to do this for a long while so it will be worth it. Again, I will not be updating next week.**

 **Wishing you all good luck, hugs, and strength where ever you are and where you are at in life. Hold on, for summer is almost here.**

 **Side note, Knarp was a thing in my youth group so that's why Jazz is planning a Knarp at the moment. It's a prank designed to bring people's spirit up and to tell them that they are loved and cared for. "**


	31. Ch30 Coffee

**Author's Note (Mini-Story): Allora runs out of her office, throwing papers into the air. "Freedom!"**

 **The gang shares a grin with each other. It was now officially summer. Even though Allora would be working full time still next semester, the gang will have three months of no worries from homework. Plenty of time to work on the story and finally get past the first week.**

 **Deep Thought- "Let's get going really. We're burning summer away."**

* * *

Ch.30 Coffee...

I stumbled out of my pod, heading towards the Messhall for Breakfast before my Morning Energon. Last night had been something, to say the least.

* * *

Last Night

I was watching the monitors that were trained on the deserted sections of the Ark. I also had some of the monitors for the outside cameras, but those only showed static. When the entrance to the Ark was finally cleared on Monday, we would have to repair the damage caused by the Crash.

Powerglide had the cameras that were trained on the communal areas of the ship. The Messhall, Lounge, hallways to quarts, the Workshop,the Shooting Range, and the Training Simulator rooms.

Seaspray had the high profile sections. The Officer's hall, Sciences, Storage rooms, Teletrran-1's main access point, Communication's Deck, and the Ventilation system.

We had been quietly watching our stations for well over an hour now. It was really really boring. I was super tempted to pull put my Processor's copy of the Cyber-Ninja Arts to pass the time. But I got to set a good example for everyone else. Sigh.

Seaspray- "What's wrong Prowl?"

Prowl- "There is nothing wrong, Seaspray. Why do you ask? *Puffs*"

Seaspray- "Oh nothing, just that you sighed just now."

I did? I don't remember that. I thought I only did a mental sigh, not a real one.

Prowl- "Is that so? Well, there is nothing wrong at the moment. Thank you for asking."

Seaspray- "Oh ok."

I heard movement behind me and Powerglide's whispered speech registered on my audios.

Powerglide- "Are you going to ask or what?"

Seaspray- "He doesn't look like he wants to be bothered."

Powerglide- "How can you tell? You aren't even looking at him."

Seaspray- "He just sounds like he doesn't want to be bothered."

Powerglide- "Oh come on. You're going to have to talk about it eventually. Might as well do it now. It would really liven things up. It's hard to play solitaire on the Vision Screen."

What could Seaspray possibly need to talk to me about?

The memory of Jessia talking to me about her concern for another player flashed to the front of my mind.

 _Jessica- "I'm actually kind of worried for the Player."_

 _Karen- "Worried in what way?"_

 _Jessica- "Well, I think their character is too much like them in real life. I sometimes forgot if I'm interacting with the character or them personally in the Game. It's scary. It's like looking at a mirror image of someone at a carnival. They may look different, but you can tell that they are the same person. I don't think the Game is good for them."_

 _Karen- "Is your character in a position to talk to them about how you feel."_

 _Jessica- "Kind of. But with Prowl's scheduling, it might be hard to talk them anytime soon."_

 _Karen- "Maybe you can talk to him about switching shifts with someone else?"_

 _Jessica- "Maybe but there's that whole "don't tell people who you are thing."_

 _Karen- "I'm sure he can keep a secret. He's a smart bot. I bet you 20 bucks that he has already figured out 5 players already and is keeping their secrets. Besides, it wouldn't hurt to talk to him about it, right?"_

Besides, it wouldn't hurt to talk to him about it, right?

Oh dear. Was Jessica Seaspray? Did Seaspray want to talk about a player that was too much like their real life selves? Wait a minute, Powerglide has been playing solitaire all of this time?

Seaspray- "Glide, you can't play solitaire while watching the monitors at the same time."

Powerglide- "Yes I can, if the cards a transparent so I can see what's behind them."

Prowl- "But are you paying attention to the monitors you have been assigned? That should the question you're asking yourself are now. *puffs*"

I heard two thumps and one clung. Together they almost shouted, "Prowl."

I turned my chair and had to look down to find Powerglide. He had fallen off his chair and managed to land on his back with his arms and legs spread out like he was making a snow angle.

Seaspray- "You heard all of that?"

Prowl- "Yes. Powerglide, if you're done with your game, I would recommend that you return to your station. Montier both Seaspray and my stations while we have a discussion outside."

Seaspray and Powerglide share a nervous glance before Powerglide climbed back onto his chair. Seaspray followed behind me out to the hall. I stopped walking when we were far enough away that Powerglide wouldn't hear the conversation.

Prowl- "What was it you wanted to discusses with me, Seaspray."

The propellers of his hovercraft alt. Mode whirled next to his helm as he glanced away. After a moment, he gathered himself and stared me straight in the optics.

Seaspray- "Why am I even here?"

Ok... Not the question I was beating on. Guess that means Jessia is somebot else.

Prowl- "You passed the personality test for Seaspray and you excepted being part of the Alpha team."

Seaspray- "That's not what I mean. *shakes helm* I mean, what's the point of having a water based bot on the team when everyone else is land or sky based? Is there even a place for me here or is my bot just some sort of charity case?"

Why would there be no place for Seaspray? Obviously, his character was here for a reason.

Prowl- "You wouldn't be part of this team if there was no place for you here."

Seaspray- "You don't know that. For all we know, we could be on Hasbro's version of Tatooine. What's the point of me being here if there, then?"

Ok, now it makes sense. That's actually a good reason to be worried. Seaspray as a seaformer would be useless without a large body of water. From what I remember, Seaspray was hardly ever on the Ark during Gen 1. He was mostly on the Sea doing recon. He only helped out when missions involved the sea in some way shape and form because he couldn't fight as well on land.

Prowl- "Seaspray, there is a high probability that there will be a large body of water out there for you when we finally are able to explore. Even if there wasn't, you would have a place here. There are many roles and you are not bound to any single role."

Seaspray looked away and kicked at the floor. Not the response that I was hoping for. Hmm... What could Seaspray do to help us if he couldn't be on the sea? Or was that something he didn't want to do.

Prowl- "Do you want to do recon on open bodies of water? Or is there something else you would like to do?"

Seaspray- "I don't know. Part of me wants to be a loner and go off exploring the seas. The other part wants to be useful and stay to help out the team. I don't want to be forgotten."

Ok, now we are starting to get somewhere.

Prowl- "How would you like to help the team?"

Seaspray- "Um, I don't know. Maybe... oh you're going to think I'm ridiculous."

Prowl- "No I'm not. You have thoughts and options that matter. I'm not going to laugh or criticize you for them. I will listen to them and only if you want my input is when I'll give it."

He stared at me for a long moment. Trying to see past my emotionless mask to see if I was being sincere. He wasn't going to tell me unless he could find that I truly meant my words.

Lowering my doorwings, I let my posture relax. "Please, tell me. I really want to help."

He sighed and straighten up like he was facing a school principal, "I want to your assistant. I want to help design and carry out battle strategies with you."

Wait, he want's to be a tactician with me? He wants to help me out?

It took me too long to gather my wits cause he had babbled on.

Seaspray- "Know that you probably don't need my help or anything, but I've always been good with strategies and have always wanted to be part of the navy. This is the closest I can get to it and would be totally awesome if I could help out. And.."

Prowl- "Seaspray. I would be honored to have your help."

Seaspray- "Wait. You would!"

Prowl- "Yes. My role isn't solely devoted to being a tactician. I have many duties and having you assist me with this would be invaluable."

Seaspray- "You really mean it?"

Prowl- "Yes, I do. You could even start tomorrow."

Seaspray- "Wow really?"

Prowl- "Yes really. Now let's head back to the security room. Powerglide can't possibly cover all the monitors by himself."

* * *

Back to this morning's thoughts and rambles.

The rest of the night had gone smoothly, but boring. I nearly feel asleep a few times but managed to catch myself each time. Powerglide and Seaspray had a conversation over the comlink I'm sure. They would both randomly burst into fits of laughter. I didn't get after them cause they helped me stay awake.

Finally making it to the Messhall, I stumbled on over to the coffee bar.

Hannah- "Morning Karen."

Karen- "Mornin."

Hannah- "You ok?"

Karen- "Coffffeeee."

Hannah- "I don't think you need that if you're going to bed in a minute."

Hannah had blocked my way to the coffee bar at this point, so I couldn't get my cup of joe.

Karen- "I necesito coffee."

Hannah- "Nope, I think not. Come on let's get you some breakfast then bed."

She then dragged me away from the coffee. I had to hold back my whimper of need. I really needed that quick jolt of caffeine in my system so I could log back in as Prowl for a spell. I needed to have him be seen walking about so people would have a harder time putting two and two together.

Hannah steered me towards my normal chair where there happen to be a plate of food waiting for me.

Hannah- "Here we are. Pancakes, eggs, crunchy bacon, cantaloupe slice, and a tall glass of milk. Now eat and go to bed. You want to be ready for the sleep tonight right?"

Karen- "Sort of. Can't I have some coffee?"

Hannah- "Nope."

Kaylie wondered over with her own plate, "You keeping Karen away from the coffee this morning, Hannah?"

Hannah- "Yep."

Kaylie- "Good. That's the last thing she needs this morning. *Turns to look at me* You need food and rest. You do know that the sleepover is tonight."

Karen- "How can I possibly forget with everyone bugging me about it?"

David sat down, " Ah, is someone a little cranky this morning? Do you need a nap?"

Karen- "I need coffee."

Kaylie- "Don't listen to her. She needs rest, not coffee. I'm making it a medical order that she doesn't get coffee this morning."

Karen- "You can't do that."

Kaylie- "Yes I can. I just did. Besides, Doctor Raphael ok'd it this morning when I told you were going to pull an all-nighter."

Of course, the two medics on our team would do everything in their power to prevent my consumption of coffee this morning. Doc Raf probably figured that I would try to pull a Prowl and stay up all day today too. But I wasn't. I just needed a little caffeine to get me through morning energon and set up a meetup time with Seaspray.

Karen- "Can't I just have a little coffee? I don't need that much."

Kaylie- "Nope. Eat."

Karen- "Fine."

I finished off my plate and before anyone could volunteer to escort me back to my room, I dashed out of the Messhall. I really needed to log back into the Game quick before heading off to bed for the morning.

Kyle was entering rounding the corner ahead of me, so I ended up slowing so is not to bump into him.

Karen- "Mornin Kyle."

Kyle- "Morning. How'd it go last night?"

Karen- "Nothing manage happened, but Kaylie and Doc Raf aren't letting me have coffee this morning."

Kyle- "Really? Don't they know that is every adult's wake up juice?"

Karen- "I think that they know it too well. They got into their heads that I can't fall asleep after having some."

Kyle- "Can you?"

Karen- "Caffeine doesn't wake me up that much. If anything, it makes me more tired in the long run. I think it's cause the drink warms me up."

Kyle- "Makes sense, I guess. Shouldn't you be heading to your room? Not your pod."

Karen- "I forgot to get my morning energon before logging out. I'll just be a sec then I logging off to hit the hay. Promise."

Kyle- "Hey I believe you. Just don't let Rachet and Aid caught you."

Karen- "I won't"

Crawling into my pod, I let myself slide into my Dreamscape. Spending a good chunk of time checking that nothing was amiss even the Honey Locust tree, I let myself online.

I was in my office since I had known that I would be coming back after a short break Earthside. It was now clean and pristine. You couldn't tell that it had been a disaster area not to long it go.

Pulling open the bottom drawer, I pulled out my computer, two datapads, and the crystal growing supplies from the greenhouse.

I set up the computer on my desk and slipped the datapads back into my subspace. I didn't know what to do with the crystal growing stuff. I had the crystal and the gravel sure, but I still needed a pot to hold it in. Guess I'll have to find one this afternoon and get it set up then.

Heading out, I changed the code on my door back to something that could actually keep bots out. With that in done, I headed over to the Messhall for my morning cube.

Huffer was sitting at our table having a cube. Jazz was mixing his cube of coffee at the stand. The need for coffee crashed over me again. I needed a cup of coffee right now.

Trying to hide my stumbling around, "Jazz, coffee please. *Puffs*"

Jazz gave me a funny look, "You ok Prowler?"

Prowl- "Prowl and I'm fine. Just please make a cube of coffee for me.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "You sure about that? I thought that the medicine made the drinks taste completely different."

Prowl- "If you make it strong enough, it should be fine.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "OK then."

He whipped me up a cube that was black as night. I poured in that morning's medicine and the energon's color didn't lighten that much. The first sip was paradise. The coffee had notes of salt, smoke, citrus, honey, and nuts. Overall, it wasn't that bitter of a coffee and was really savory. That meant that the flavor lingered on my tongue after I was done.

Jazz- "Better?"

Prowl- "Better. Thank you, Jazz."

Ratchet- "Prowl! What in the blazes are you still doing here!"

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-Story): The gang pulls to a stop and Allora rushes to the mailbox. Reads through it quick and jumps and downs in response.**

 **Allora- "Hey everyone. Glad you all love the prank that was pulled on the Terror Twins. I had to stop a few times to get my giggle fits out myself when writing that piece. For What Lies Beyond, each bots has random items in their rooms based on their character. Prowl has his weapon, some datapads, and cleaning supplies. If Prowl was to visit a bot like Wheeljack, he would find random junk from experiments laying. Sunstreaker would have paint supplies and Blaster would have music along with stuff to help take care of baby Cybertronians. My thought process is that the Game Designers had the quarters made as if they had been lived in already. Prowl is just really sterile compared to others. CMDOBlitzin, that BOTS sounds awesome. We will have to see if anyone takes up the torch for that. CybertronDefense, no idea on Redalert. We will just have to wait and see."**


	32. Ch31 Breathe

**Author's Note(Mini-Story): "I'm late, I'm late for a very important date. No time to say hello, goodbye, I'm late, I'm late, I'm late."**

 **Allora sings as she jumps onboard Deep Thought before the chapter begins.**

* * *

Ch.31 Breathe

Ratchet grabbed my free arm and started to drag me out of the Messhall. It wasn't very pretty. Hopping on my left ped repeatedly to prevent falling over, my right arm waved madly to save my coffee from spilling over the edge. I couldn't stop my wings from flipping to regain my balance.

Huffer gapped at Ratchet for dragging me away, and Jazz wasn't any help cause he was hunched over laughing. In fact, all the bots that were there this morning were laughing their helms off at the spectacle that was Ratchet and Prowl, a.k.a me.

Optimus appeared in the doorway just before us and promptly stepped out of the way so we could pass. His optics were wide in surprise. I'm surprised that his battle mask didn't drop off showing his wide open mouth.

I heard more than saw Wheeljack whisper to Perceptor, "Glad it's not me this time."

We traveled down a few corridor before I was finally able to free my arm from Ratchet's grasp and regain my balance. I took a sip of my coffee flavored energon while Ratchet crossed his arms and tapped his right ped repeatedly.

Prowl- "That wasn't necessary. *puff*"

Ratchet- "My aft, it was. *Flings arms wide open* You had direct orders to go to bed and not drink coffee. And what do I online to find? You awake playing games and drinking coffee. Don't you go telling me that's not coffee your drinking. I don't care if it's energon flavored to taste like coffee. It has the same properties as coffee in Real Life."

Prowl- "I'm sorry. I had to log back in for me morning enregon. The order this morning didn't take that into account."

Ratchet seemed to grow taller and his optics darken in color.

Ratchet- "Don't play games with me. You know exactly what Kaylie was saying this morning. You disobeyed a medical order and as such you will be punished for it. I will have to discuss it with Prime until then you will not be allowed back into the game till 4:00 in the afternoon today. When you log back you will report to Ironhide for your training session. After that, you will return to your quarters and log off right away. You will not stop to grab a cube of energon. Is that understood?"

That's not fair. How was that not a punishment? I have other duties to attend to during my time online. He can't cut short my shift without oking it with Optimus first. That wasn't fair. Also, he was basically saying that I would have to rely solely on the one cube of energon I'm having right now for my training session later today.

Handing him my now empty cube, "Understood," I walked away.

* * *

I did follow Dr. Raf and Kaylie's orders once I logged off. I went straight to my room, plopped onto my bed, and fell asleep. I woke up a little bit before two.

Lunch is probably over by now. Doesn't it end at 1:30? Well, what to do? We don't really have anything in the greenhouse for me to munch on. Better check the mess hall to see if there is any way for me to get my hands on some food.

Rolling off the bed, I grabbed my gear along with a book before heading out the door. The halls were really quite. Everybody had by now moved to what area they would hang out in for the rest of the afternoon. I was the oddball wondering the halls.

The Messhall was empty. No people. No food. No drones. Just empty tables and chairs. The dumb waiter doors were closed. That meant that the mini-elevators our food arrived in were up on the surface. Waiting for that night's dinner to carry down.

The hall should have been silent, except for the normal sounds from the air conditioning and lights. Instead, I heard music and the sounds of pots clanging.

There was a new door next to the dumbwaiters. What had looked like a normal wall had opened up like the drone doggy doors to reveal a new space.

Poking my head around the corner of the seemingly new door, there was a classic home kitchen and someone with their back to me was hard at work baking cookies. The music she was listening to was 80s classic.

Karen- "Hello?"

She wiped around, "Oh hi."

She was older than me, probably by 10 years. Her brunet hair was tied up into a messy bun. Her blue eyes were a stark contrast to her olive skin. She had an apron over her gaming suit and it covered her name tag.

Dusting her flower covered hand son her apron, "Hi, I'm Aria. I don't think we really have met before."

Karen- "Karen. *shakes offered hand* Yay, I guess we really haven't. I didn't know that we had a kitchen."

Aria- "Neither did I. I had to put in an inquiry about baking my own cookies before the folks up top opened it up for us."

Karen- "Did they have to come down here to open it up?"

Aria- "Nope, I think they just said Open Sesame and here it was."

Karen- "So they have areas closed off to us."

Aria- "Yep, they might open them up later when we start getting bored with what we have."

Or we need to find these areas on our own. Growl.

Karen- "Um, do we have anything that is ready to eat? I kind of overslept and missed lunch."

Aria- "Check the fridge. I know that there is lunch meat and cheese in there. There's a loaf in the bread box next to the mini oven. Plates and glasses in the top cupboards. Silverware in the door next to the fridge."

Heading over to the fridge, "Why are you making cookies?"

Aria- "For Emily's sleepover tonight. Are you coming?"

Karen- "I'm beside if I tried to bale I'd probably have one my friends dragging me there in no time."

I made myself a chicken sandwich and pulled out a root beer out of the fridge. I left Aria to her baking and told her I'd be at the party.

After eating my lunch, I found myself with a little under two hours left to goof off till I was allowed back into the Game.

What to do? What to do? People will figure out who I am if I can't log back in before four. But Doc. Raf is really miffed at me and would blow a fuse if I tried to log in before his ok. How to make it look like a logged in for a little bit while not actually?

I wandered over to the VR room, ignoring the other pods, I only had eyes for my own. Laying down in it, I had to shield lower as if I was about to log in. I had my oxygen mask on so I didn't have to worry about running out of air.

As the words _Game Start_ appeared on my visor, I mentally shouted _Stop menu screen, please._

Surprisingly, it worked. The words were soon replaced by a short menu.

 _Set a logoff time in advance_

 _Set times for when not to allow player into the game_

 _Set pod to long term play_

 _Access other media_

Intrigued I clicked the access other media option.

The menu refreshed to match the new options.

 _Books_

 _Movies_

 _Music_

 _Character's Personal Library_

Cool, I can access the files I have in my Gameside processor without logging in or downloading to my communicator.

With the Character's Personal Library selected, I was able to look at the small amount of books I had Gameside.

 _Praxian Gardens: The art of growing crystals for pleasure and beneficial health improvement._

 _The Cyber-ninja Arts By Master Yoketron: For my students when I'm gone._

Eeny, meeny, miny, Mo. Catch a tiger by the Toe. If he hollers, let him Go.  
Eeny meeny miny Mo. _Cyber-ninja Arts it is then._

 _Now, my student, it is time to begin with your first lesson. The first step to the Cyber-ninja arts to learn what it means to breathe._

 _Now as Cybertronians, we as a species don't need to breathe like other sentient life. We are able to function when there is no life-giving atmosphere. We still intake a planet's atmosphere if it is made of base elements that are beneficial to our health, but we do not breathe it._

 _For other beings, their first lesson in life is to learn to breathe and with this action, they have finally left the safety of the womb to acknowledge the outside world. Every fiber of their being, interacting with the universe and breathes._

 _Our being is our spark. Contain within the spaceship that is our frame, unable to truly intact with the outside world. Everything we experience has to travel through our network of sensors and wires. Our experience is second hand._

 _Other sentients do not have this disconnect. They're being isn't contained within a vessel that can be transferred to another frame. Their being is throughout their frame, the frame that they are born into cannot be replaced with a new one. It is through this frame that they interact with the universe._

 _With each breath, beings become part of the greater universe. With every breath, they change the makeup of the universe. Life can never truly be made of a single being, it is the connection of all being from before to the future. To breathe is to share that connect._

 _Now, do not disappear my student. Even you can learn how to breathe and gain that connection that is vital for life. In fact, you know how import connects are for Life to be. Your connect to spark family is a reminder that you are not alone in the universe._

 _There is also a connection to Primus and the Creator. That every Cybertronian shares this connection even though most have forgotten this. They have forgotten how the Breath of Life made not only them but all those seen and unseen._

 _You have the knowledge of how to breathe to enhance your health. Now it's time to learn breathe and reconnect._

 _Intake slowly, feel the gasses that make of the air travel throughout your systems._

* * *

The Transformers! More than meets the Eye! Autobots wage their battle to...

What in the world?

I didn't remember where I was. Finding myself in my pod with the lid down, I had to lift my visor away in order to grab my communicator from the mini-shelf. The screen read Ironhide.

Karen- "Prowl here."

Ironhide- "You're late."

Karen- "I'm sorry?"

Ironhide- "You're late."

What time is it? Pulling my communicator away from my ear, it was 4:15.

Karen- "I am sorry Ironhide. I will be there in a moment."

Ironhide- "Be glad that I'm the teacher and not you."

Did he just reference the universal law that if the teacher is 15 minutes late, the class can ditch? Anyway, did I fall asleep while meditating?

Quickly, I logged in and made my way over to the training rooms. Ironhide was standing at the far end of the hall. His red menace tapping a ped while waiting for me to hurry up.

Ironhide- "About time."

Prowl- "Again, I apologize for being late. It will not happen again."

Ironhide humphed and turned to the door behind him. Past it was a gun range with holographic targets floating around. There was a classic long table with divided sections for shoots. But there was a door that allowed bots past the table and practice shooting while moving around.

On the back wall were gun racks, shelves for ammo, and another table with a gun broken down for cleaning. This is where Ironhide lead me.

Ironhide- "You manage to bring your acid rifle and ammo?"

Prowl- "Yes."

That was the first thing I grabbed after onlining. I didn't want to come empty handed if we were going to do something involving the gun.

Ironhide held out his hand, "Well let's see it."

Reaching over my right shoulder, the gun slipped out of subspace. I checked to make sure that it was clear of ammo before carefully handing it over to him. He checked it for ammo again and inspected it for any flaws and made sure nothing jammed.

After a long silent moment, he simply nodded and handed it back.

Ironhide- "The ammo?"

Putting the gun back into subspace, I grabbed my ammo magazines from my imaginary pockets and handed them over.

He looked at them and took out one of the pellets.

Prowl- "Don't!"

Ironhide- "Don't what."

Prowl- "Those are acid pellets. If you break the shell you will have acid eating your servo. Ratchet wouldn't be able to fix it if that happens. He'll have to completely replace it. That may be over a month before that is possible."

Ironhide- "I know that, but they got to be strong enough for you to put them into the magazine right?"

His squished it slightly, causing the point ball like object to stretch with stress. I let a cringe escape onto my face and gestured for both the magazine and pellet back.

Prowl- "Be that as it may, I would prefer it that you didn't test the durability of the pellets with your servo."

Hide shrugged his shoulders and gave them back. He mostly likely thought it would take more than him squeezing for the pellet to break, but I wasn't taking any chances. These things were dangerous. If an empty gun was to be treated like it was loaded, the pellets should be treated like they could pop at any moment.

Ironhide- "You take a gun safety course?"

Prowl- "Yes."

Ironhide- "How long ago?"

Prowl- "Junior high."

Ironhide- "Ok, you will need to review the course and retake the test for me. I don't want mistakes cauze somebot forgot."

Prowl- "Understandable. Reviewing the material would be beneficial for everyone."

Ironhide stared at me for a long second, waiting for me to argue with him like I did at the officer meeting. When I didn't, he shook himself and went on with the lesson.

Ironhide- "Your rifle is a model that best resembles an AK-47. Like the AK-47, your rifle is a selective-fire, gas-operated assault rifle. Unlike the AK-47, your gun has four options of fire. Semi-automatic pellets, automatic pellets, semi-automatic laser, and automatic laser. Semi is single shot per trigger pull. Automatic is multiple shots until either the trigger is released or the magazine is empty. The gas-operation of the rifle refers to the guns ability to harvest the high-pressure gas from a cartridge to spell the spent and reload a new one."

Prowl- "So that means the pellets have at least two layers of protective covering. One to trap the chemicals needed to produce the high presser gas for firing and reloading. Another to hold the acid until it hits its target."

Ironhide- "You some kind of science bot?"

Prowl- "No, if I was, I would be Perceptor."

Ironhide- "Bwahahaha. That's funny. I don't know if that's true about the pellets. The gun might use a different reloading system. I'm just saying the closest thing we have on Earth is the AK-47, which is one of the most reliable assault rifles out there. You might want to talk to Perceptor about how the gun actually reloads and fires. What you are going to learn today is how to clean it. The principle is the same as if we are cleaning an AK-47. Now get your gun back out and let's get started."

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-Story): The gang pulls to a stop and Allora falls flat on her face.**

 **Cliffhanger- "You ok."**

 **Allora gives him a thumbs up before sitting up."**

 **Allora- "Hey guys, I'm that this is late. I'm still recovering from a cold I got during finals week. With that and my new job, I've been super tired at night. In the future, I'll aim to have these done by Saturday if I only get one done a week. Hopefully, this left over sicky pooness will end and I can update faster. Now to answer reviews. CrackleShot-the-Sparkeater, I've noticed that too! Must be Deceptiglitches at it again. CybertronDefense, Yep go Seaspray. I can't wait to see who else will break the mold that is their character. praxian, we're still in the first week of the story believe it or not. I know the longest week ever. This is the first story arc. The next coming up will be Transformation training. After that, we'll probably be ready to jump to the end of the first month for the First Fight arc. SnazzyFighter098, sorry I never did mention it did I? Karen is 20 years in my mind since she's in her second year of college but still young enough to not be allowed to drink. I'm still deciding her B-day. It will probably in the late winter months. Thanks for the random questions, they help me stay on track for details.**

 **Hugs and Strength to everyone."**


	33. Ch32 Hi

**Author's Note (Min-Story): A mailman comes over the hill that the gang was camping on.**

 **Mailman- "Mail call."**

 **Allora- "Thanks a bunch. I hope that we didn't make come to far out of your way."**

 **Mailman- "It's fine ma'am. I enjoy the occasional hike. You have a good day."**

 **Cliffhanger- "You too."**

 **Lancer- "So how much mail did you get today Allora?"**

 **Allora- " Six for the last chapter and one form the first. Looks like we got a new reader."**

 **Deep Thought- "Well are you going to hi to everyone."**

 **Allora- "I was getting to that. *Clears throat* Hi Vela513, not sure how soon you'll see this note but so glad to have you on board. It's always fun to have new readers say hi. You didn't really stay up all night to just read this story, did you? To everybody (CybertonDefense, CrackleShot-TheSparkeater, and praxian) wishing me to be no longer sicky poo, I'm not sick anymore! I've finally got over the cold, yeah for antibodies. SnazzyFighter098, glad you like had I have the characters as mystery players and I can't wait to see who is who too. ;p Darkwalk12, that was pretty sneaky wasn't it. Guest, we might be seeing BOTS in the next chapter also are you by chance CMDOBlitzin? And now time for the show.**

* * *

Ch.32 Hi

Walking back to my quarters, I had to repress a sigh of longing when I went past the Messhall. My tank was starting to feel hollow. My puffs of smoke had stopped coming out part way through my lesson with Hid, meaning that my medicine was no longer working. My air intake was raw from the still present partials from Steeljaw's and Bee's stumble into my office early this week. Not very fun.

Rounding a corner, I blinked to make sure what I was seeing was real. Jazz and the rest of Special Ops were sitting in front of my door, playing a card game. The cards were made of a sturdy metal that was enameled to resemble a standard 52 card deck. There was even special card stands for Steeljaw and Ramhorn to use so they could be part of the game.

Jazz- "Hey Prowler."

Prowl- "Prowl, and hello Jazz. Hound, Blaster, Trailbreaker, Mirage, Bumblebee, Steeljaw, and Ramhorn. Why are you all playing card games in front of my quarters?"

Mirage- "I overheard Ratchet order that you weren't allowed online unless you were training with Ironhide. You were not also allowed to visit the Messhall for your rations before logging off again."

How? There was no one there but... Wait a second! Does he have his cloaking ability already! How does that even work? Is it an app or is it instinctual? Like he doesn't want to be noticed in an award situation and subconsciously disappears?

Bee- "I figured that Ratchet wouldn't be too happy with you if you didn't take your meds like Steel and me."

Trailbreaker- "So we're here to make sure you take your meds."

Blaster- "And that you so straight to your quarters."

Hound- "We wouldn't want Ratchet mad at you."

Jazz patted the spot next to him, "So sit down and join us, Prowler. That's an order for your well being."

Steeljaw and Ramhorn nodded their helms at Jazz's statement.

Boy did I really want to sit down and goof off with them, but I really should follow Ratchet's orders and log off now.

Prowl- "I'm sorry, but I must log off now. If you will excuse me."

Trailbreaker- "I wouldn't try to go in there if I was you."

Now, why ever not? Throwing out my sensors, I soon saw why. There was a force field in front of my door. Invisible unless I touched it or had my sensors on full blast. Not fair. I was stuck.

Prowl- "I see. Will you allow me inside if I drink a cube?"

Jazz- "You gotz to sit, drink, and hang with us for a bit."

Prowl- "How long is a bit?"

Jazz- "Till we say it's ok. *Patting ground* Come on. You know you want to."

Fine. Stepping my right ped in front of my left, I lowered myself to the ground till I was sitting criss cross apple sauce. Which was kind of surprising that was even possible in this form. Bee handed me my cube.

Bee- "It has that powder that makes the meds sweet."

Prowl- "That you."

While I was adding my medicine, they were reshuffling the deck and dealing so I could play.

Blaster- "Now, don't go gulping all that in one go."

Prowl- "Why would you assume that?"

Blaster- "You look like you're about to take some cherry flavored cough syrup."

Really, I thought my face was neutral. Was I doing the thing where I have to psych myself out before taking a big gulp. Where I take a bunch of deep breaths and shake my hands as if about to start a competition. No, I don't think so.

Blaster didn't elaborate how he knew and I didn't press. We ended up playing a few rounds of King's in the Corner because I refused to play poker. Steeljaw and Ramhorn had the most wins by the time I finished off my cube.

Prowl- "It's time for me to log off. Will you disengage the shield now, Trailbreaker?*Puff*"

Trailbreaker- "What do you think, Jazz?"

Jazz- "Prowler is free to go."

Prowl- "It's Prowl. Have a good night everyone.*Prowl*"

Everybot else- "Bye Prowl."

Safe inside my room now, I allowed myself to smile. That was really sweet what they did for me.

Wait. What's that on my berth?

There was a datapad on it. I didn't leave anything on my berth this afternoon.

Cautiously, I turned on the pad while leaving it on the berth.

 _Hi Prowl,_

 _Sorry that I couldn't have a cube with you and the Special Ops team after your training session. My game shift was this morning and I had to take care of stuff Earthside. Hoped you liked the Energon. Just to let you know, the chairs you ordered are ready along with Ratchet's order. I was able to rope Gears into helping me get them done before the weekend._

 _See you tomorrow,_

 _Huffer_

 _P.S. If you're wondering how this got into your quarters, it wasn't Jazz. I asked him but he said he wouldn't do it. Another bot helped me out but asked that I didn't tell you who it was._

Aww. How sweet. Glad to know that Jazz kept his promise but I'll have to talk to Huffer about breaking into my room. Who in the world was the bot to help him do that? It could be anybot on the team. I'll just have to try to get Huffer to spill the beans.

* * *

Brandon- "How are you even awake, Karen? I wouldn't be after having an all nighter. I would be asleep by now."

Of course, he had to ask that right after taking a huge bite of my burger. Holding up a finger, I tried to chew faster so I could answer the question.

Karen- "Naps help and who says I'm awake. I could be sleep walking and talking to you right now."

Hannah- "What I'm surprised about is how Karen managed to stay logged in the game for almost half the day without Doc Raf getting after her."

Kaylie shot me a frown, "That's what I would like to know, too."

Karen- "Who knows. *Shrugs shoulders* I just logged in and he didn't shout at me."

Kyle- "Who else is excited about Monday?"

David- "Transform and Roll Out!"

Brandon- "And Explore the Unknown."

David- "Who isn't excited about that? But we have to get through the weekend first. What are we planning to do the next two days?"

Karen- "Sleep and church."

Brandon- "You're going to hold a church service?"

Karen- "Depends. I was just planning to have a worship session in one of the greenhouse rooms along with a bible study and another worship session. That's what my youth group did when we were at camp and were going to miss Sunday morning back home."

Kyle- "I'd be interested in joining you."

Karen- "Cool beans. Everyone is free to join. I should probably send out an invite for anyone interested."

Hannah- "Do it."

Karen- "Ok, I will."

Brandon- "Right now."

Pulling out my communicator, "Ok. Ok, I'm doing it right now."

Soon the beeps of an incoming email echo throughout the Messhall. A good amount of the players grabbed their communicators to check out what was what, but some waited for their friends to tell them what it was about. I got least 3 yes defiantly and 4 maybes right off the bat.

Karen- "Cool, it looks like we're going to have church on Sunday. *Finishes off plate* I'll see you guys later, I'm going to get ready for the sleepover."

Kaylie- "I'll head out with you."

We left the Messhall and when we were in the clear, Kaylie pushed me into the nearest girls bathroom.

Kaylie- "Ok spill. How come everyone thinks you were in the Game all afternoon when both of us know that you were only there long enough for your training session and a short energon break with Special Ops."

Karen- "Do I have to tell?"

Kaylie- "Yes, or I'll have you grounded for another day."

Karen- "You're just as bad as Doc Raf."

Kaylie- "I learn from the best, not spill."

Karen- "I kind of, accidentally, took a nap in my pod."

Kaylie- "You what!"

Karen- "Shoosh, you want to have someone overhear."

Kaylie- "How do you kind of accidentally take a nap in the pod without logging into the game?"

Karen- "Well I wasn't planning on taking a nap. I was actually planning on reading a book while pretending to be in the game. Turns out, the pod has this secret menu that you can access if you stop the login sequence. I was able to look at the books I have downloaded in my processor in the game while in the pod. As I was reading, I fell asleep by accident and was late for my lesson because of it."

Kaylie- "So that's why Ironhide was bugging me to see if you had logged in yet."

Karen- "Yay, sorry about that. Am I free to go? I'd like to get ready for the party. I just realized, I don't where it's being held. Where is it being held? The Messhall?"

Kaylie- "Nope, the Lounge."

Karen- "We have a Lounge? Where was that when we were waiting for the boys upstairs to let us play the Game? Sure, board games in the Messhall are fun but a lounge would have been nice."

Kaylie- "Don't know. Emily found it and reserved it so the cleaning drones wouldn't ambush us during the night. I'll show you where it is when your ready."

Karen- "Thanks, I'll see you later."

* * *

Wow."

The room was fantastic. The slumber party heaven made real. A white wall that had an overhead projector for movies. Surround sound speakers. Shelves stockpiled with movies, games, and gaming devices. Overstuffed couches and chairs next to coffee tables the perfect height for playing board games. The was a table pushed up against the left wall full of junk food, soft drinks, and some healthier chooses for the die-hards among us. The right wall had a table with spa gear, board games, cards, and some neat crafts for later in the night. The floor was covered in super soft pads that had plush carpet over top. Pillows and blanks littered the space.

There were even cushion forts. Four of them to be exact. They had their own distinct color. Blue, green, red, and white. A lot of the pillows and blankets matched the colors of the forts.

A girl came bounding up in a onesie that was mostly a dark blue but how a sock monkey embroidered above the heart and the feet where sock monkey heads. She had her brunette hair ties up into pigtails. Along with her glasses, she looked younger than me even though she was a couple of inches taller. I would say that she was a high school, possibly a junior and had to get her parents permission in order to become a beta tester.

She grabbed my hand and started shaking it so hard that I had to rock to the balls of my feet to stay balanced.

"Hi, you must be Karen. It's nice to officially meet you, even though we've said hi in the hallways before. You're going to have so much fun tonight. It's going to be a blast. I'm Emily by the way. I like your PJs. Hi, Kaylie."

Karen- "Nice to meet you too. I like yours too."

I was wearing a two piece set that was light blue in color. The top was a regular old t-shirt but the paints had sock monkeys chasing butterflies on it. Guess Emily and I had the same taste in PJs. But I bet that she didn't have pieces of her game suit hiding underneath her pj's. Doc Raf sent and electronic Howler after me when I took off my suit for the party tonight. I still wasn't allowed to take off the suit unless I was taking a shower. I had to take my suit apart in order to make to bracelets and a strip that would cover my chest. Doc Raf said those would give him the best idea if I was doing ok.

Kaylie was wearing grey sweatpants with a yellow tank top. She had her favorite pillow and blank tucked under her arm along with her toothbrush.

I had my gear in a similar fashion under my left arm.

Kaylie- "Hey Emily. What's with all of the pillows and forts?"

Emily- "It's a surprise. For now, we're only waiting for Aria and Jessica to get here before the party can start."

Jessica walked wearing red shorts and a white top, "I'm here. Aria is still in the kitchen. Said that she was finishing up the cookies she'd promised and that we should get started without her."

Emily- "Okie Doke. *Cups hand to mouth and faces the room.* Hey you gals, let's circle up. It's time to meet and greet."

We gather on the couches in front of the blank wall and sat down. Some of the gals had drinks and snakes already, so they used the coffee table closest to them.

Emily- "Ok everyone. We'll go counter clockwise. State your name, age, where you're from, and something interesting. I'll go first. Hi, I'm Emily. I'm 16 years old. I'm from here. I was third place in my school's writing contest.

"I'm Michelle. I'm 21. From Texas. I've never seen the sea or been to Mexico."

"I'm Cassy. I'm 22. From New York. I watched the Harry Potter movies first and then read the books. Big mistake."

"I'm Louise. I've been 25 for three years. I'm from Ohio. I once caught a toad and asked it to see if it would turn into a prince. Turns out you need to look for them frogs instead."

We all laughed.

"I'm Sarah. I'm not saying my age. I'm from Wyoming. I'm a Crew Boss back home."

Hannah- "So you ran a gang?"

Sarah- "No. A construction crew."

Hannah- "Oh."

Jessica- "I'm Jessica. I'm 19. From Missouri. I'm a part of my college's basketball team."

Kaylie- "I'm Kaylie. I'm 21. From Oregon. My Dad is a vet but I'm scared of rodents so I became a nurse instead of a vet like him.

Hannah- "I'm Hannah. I'm 20. From Minnesota. I've done field surveys for endangered species along the west coast.

Karen- "I'm Karen. I'm 20. I'm from Minnesnowda too. I've gone repelling off of a 3 story tower and drove a simulated tank."

Aria came running in with a tray of cookies that were shaped like cars.

Aria- "Sorry I'm late. I'm Aria. Age early 40s. From California. I make the world's best cookies."

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-Story): The team pulls to a stop outside of a small town. Lancer waves to everyone before heading off to get supplies for the next few chapters.**

 **Allora- "I wonder on OrionStartraveler and Subconscious is doing."**

 **Cliffhanger- "Who?"**

 **Allora- "You know that writer I mention in ch.26 ? Well, both his mechifacation and him were heading to a Sea Base or something last time I checked."**

 **Deep Thought- "You mean my mech cousin and his writer?"**

 **Allora- "Yep."**

 **Deep Thought- "Well this station does have a system set up to talk to other writers and their muses. we can call him if you know the name of the Sea Base they were heading too."**

 **Allora- "I think it was Aurora Borealis."**

 **Cliffhanger- "Let's call them and say hi."**

 ***See the Mini-Story continue in OrionStartraveler's _Soul Bond_ Ch.3 Pen Pal."**


	34. Ch33 Fun

**Author's Note (Mini-Story): Cliffhanger rolled up in his caboose form to meet up with Lancer and Deep Thought. He transformed at the same time as Thought.**

 **Lancer- "Find her."**

 **Thought- "Nope."**

 **Cliff- "I thought I heard something in the office car earlier but then it got quite."**

 **Thought- "It's a lead. Let's head over there."**

 **Lancer- "I thought she stopped using that for the summer."**

 **Cliff- "Maybe she left some of her research behind by accident and had to sort through the mess to find it."**

 **Thought- "Shhh... Do you hear that?"**

 **The team listened and then a thump and a faint "get back here" echoed from the car in question.**

 **Lancer- "Sounds like she needs help."**

 **Cliff reached for the door, "Then let's go help her."**

 **As the door opened, "Stop! Don't let it out!"**

 **Too late, a tiny humanoid dragon creature flew out. Its scales were black in color with a bronze undertone. The wings looked like partially scaled feathers with leather covering the bottom half.**

 **Lancer- "What is that thing?"**

 **Allora came running out with a net "Right now a story muse. Catch it before it get's too far away."**

 **Thought subspaced a net gun and caught the Muse and gave it back to Allora.**

 **Allora- "Thanks, Thought. Now to put it back with the others."**

 **Lancer and Cliff followed Allora into the car while Thought crouched outside to watch. The cabinet that was always locked was open and inside were jars that held what looked like tiny creatures and objects.**

 **Cliff- "What is that?"**

 **Allora- "Muses, inner traits, things born from my subconscious that take on physical form."**

 **Thought- "Is that what I looked like before the story?"**

 **Allora- "Nope you didn't have a physical form until I started writing. It wasn't until I started writing that my thoughts started to take on physical form. Other Transformer story ideas take on a separate set of tracks for us since both you and Cliff are here. Muses for other fandoms take on creatures from that fandom. This little guy *puts into a jar* is from the Books of the Raksura by Martha Wells. He is a Raksura."**

 **Cliff- "*Grabs a jar* Who is this triangle dude?"**

 **Allora- "Cliff! Put down that jar gently and back away slowly. That is one muse that shouldn't be allowed out for a long time."**

 **Cliff back away from the jar. The triangle didn't look happy and started throwing blue fireballs at the glass.**

 **Lancer- "Hey, I thought you said that all the Transformer stuff where tracks. Why do you have mini versions of Wheeljack, Perceptor, and Skyfire?"**

 **Allora- "They aren't muses. They are my inner science nerds."**

 **Thought- "So why didn't you update last week?"**

 **Allora- "Short answer life. I had to channel my inner science nerds and help tutor my sib. That took all of my writing day. I to case my nerds back into their jars but Raksura Muse escaped and made working on the story after my full-time job difficult. *Turns to the readers* Sorry guys, life happens, but there is a bonus story at the end of the chapter for you all. I'll answer reviews after."**

* * *

Ch.33 Fun

With everyone having grabbed one of Aria's car shaped cookies, Emily decided now was the time to talk about a pillow fight."

Emily- "Who's ready for a pillow fight?"

Sounds of "yay", "I'm so ready", and "sure why not" echoed around the circle between cookie munchs.

Emily- "Who here has seen Avatar? Raise your hands."

Everyone but Sarah raised their hands.

Sarah- "You mean the blue monkey people movie right?"

Everyone but Sarah- "NO!"

Emily- "Avatar the Last Airbender and Legend of Korra of course. "

Sarah- "Airbender? Korra?"

Jessica- "The greatest show to ever air on Nickelodeon."

Cassy- "Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony."

Michelle- "But everything changed when the fire nation attacked."

Emily- "Only the Avatar, master of all four elements could stop them."

Cassy - "But when the world needed him most, he vanished."

Aria- "A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar. An airbender named Aang."

Hannah- "An even though his skills are great."

Kaylie- "He has a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone."

Karen- "But I believe he can save the world! How do we still remember this?"

Emily- "Cuz we're nerds and nerds are awesome. *Air punch*"

Jessica- "Yay, nerds forever!"

Sarah- "Ok, so the show was fun to watch. How does that equal pillow fight?"

Karen- "You're sitting on the answer. The pillows are colored Blue, Green, Red, and White around the room."

Michelle- "Oh I get it! We each pick a nation and that is the only color pillow we get to throw! Cool! I call Water Tribe! Why do we need forts?"

Emily- "They're your nation's capital. If it gets knocked down your team is out of the game and you're nation has officially fallen."

Hannah- "Is there an Avatar in this game? That would be fun to play as the Avatar."

Emily- "Yep, we have one. Do you want to be the Avatar this first round?"

Hannah- "You bet! What do I get to do besides use any color pillow?"

Emily- "Since the Avatar is supposed to bring balance to the world, your job will be helping out teams that look like they're about to lose. You can either rebuild their base for them while they still fight or you defend the team while they rebuild. That way no one is taken out too quickly. But the Avatar can't side with only one team. You will have to move between the teams after either singing ABC one or if you notice another team about to fall. Now the teams can't physically hold their fort up during the fight, they are only allowed to touch their fort if the Avatar is helping them out. When your rebuilding, you have to where pillows on your hands, that way it's like you're bending the fort back into shape. Any questions?"

Louise- "Where can you hit other people with the pillow?"

Emily- "Since some of us are wearing glasses, you shouldn't hit people in the head. If yo get someone in the head by accident, you have to play dead while singing ABC before you can jump back into the game. Ok, I think I covered everything. Since Hannah is going to be the Avatar this round, we have 9 people split between four teams. Hmm... One team while have an extra player unless someone wants to sit out but that wouldn't be very fun for that person. Is everyone ok with one team having an extra player?"

Kaylie- "I don't see an issue if we are going to have an Avatar helping balance the other teams out."

Karen- "I do have an extra question. If 3 of the teams gang up on one team to try to wipe them out, is the Avatar allowed to stay past the ABC count and help out the lone team? It wouldn't be fair if everyone one ganged up on the Fire or something and the Avatar wasn't allowed to help them stay in the game."

Emily- "Umm... If that happens, the Avatar is allowed to go into the Avatar State after three ABC's. In the Avatar State, Hannah would have to shout Avatar State and attack the other teams forts. This is the only time the Avatar can attack the forts themselves. The Avatar state lasts 10 seconds."

Jessica- "So what equals a fort being destroyed? Do all on the pillows need to be scattered or does the structure just need to clasp?"

Emily- "The forts have a duct tape circle around showing where the fort is. If all the pillows are outside that line, then the fort has fallen. You can use as many pillows as you like to build a new fort, but that might mean less pillows you can throw with."

Sarah rubbed her hands together, "This sounds like it's going to be fun. Let's get going. I think I'm going to be Fire nation."

Emily- "Ok everyone, head over to your team forts. Hannah will tell us to go when everyone is ready."

Aria put her cookies on the snacks table while everyone scrambled to get their favorite nations. I initially went with the Water tribe with Kaylie and Michelle but Sarah was all by her lonesome in Earth Kingdom so I went over there. Fire Nation had Jessica and Cassy. Air Nomads had Emily, Louise, and Aria.

Hannah- "Ok, is everyone ready? 3..2...1... And Go!"

Fire nation started pelleting the Air Nomads, so Water Tribe started for the Fire Nation fort. Hannah started helping defend Air Nomads while singing the ABCs out loud.

Sarah- "I'll be the goalie if you want to try teaming up with another team to knock out a fort."

The memory of Toph, the blind Earth bender, making earth armor to fight flashed past my eyes.

Karen- "Hey in the show, Earth bending could make armor out of rocks to defend themselves. Want to make some pillow armor before going into battle?"

Sarah- "Sounds like a plan."

Putting pillows on my legs and arms by using the pillow cases as sleeves, a pillow under my top almost completed the look. The helmet took some fitting in order to get it to stay but in the end, I ended up with a really tall hat. Sarah had hers on long before I did.

Karen- "You've done this before?"

Sarah- "Played hockey in college. I was my team's goalie, now go and kick some butt."

Jumping into the fray I joined the Water benders to attack the Fire Nation but I had to go back to help defend when the Air Nomads started attacking the Earth Kingdom. Poor Hannah was getting quit the workout from having to run around helping the different nations.

I didn't want the Avatar State to activate so I would sing in my head to ABCs to keep how long Hannah was defending a team that I helped ganged up on. Half way through the third ABC, I would sneak attack another group to change the focus of the battle. But after playing the game for a good ten minutes, we all slipped up and Hannah finished the third ABC.

Hannah- "Avatar State!"

She madly, run through the Air, Water, and Earth forts while wearing green pillows on her arms. Both the Air and Water forts were gone and the Fire Nation team were quick to finish taking out the Earth fort.

Hannah- "Game over! Fire Nation wins. I need a drink."

Emily- "Water break. Good game everyone."

Cassy- "That was great."

All of us headed over to the snacks table chatting about how cool the pillow fight was and how cool some people's moves where.

Karen- "Emily, did you play this before or did you just make it up? Cause this is awesome."

She grinned, "I made it up. I thought it might be a fun idea. It would be even better if we had more people to play."

Karen- "Then the Avatar would have a hard time helping balance everything."

Emily- "Then they could have a team Avatar form, one player assigned to each Nation would be part of team Avatar to help defend the other teams."

Hannah- "That would have been cool to have. I was bouncing all over the place like a ping-pong ball."

Since we all wanted to keep true to the show, it was decided that the next Avatar would come from the Air Nomads of last round. Everyone stuck with the nation they had last round, so Hannah went with the Water Tribe to make sure the Avatar after this round would be a Water bender.

Louise was slower than Hannah was when getting to a nation in need so the Water Tribe was the first group to fall by another nation's hand. The game lasted 7 minutes before the game it became a tie between the Air Nomads and the Earth Kingdom. It wasn't very fair to Louise since she would have had to decide which nation to defend, so both us and the Air Nomads agreed that the Avatar shouldn't get involved in the tie.

We just threw pillows at each other hoping to get past each team's blocks. Sarah had a really good throwing arm so we won the second round.

Going into our third round of Avatar Pillow Fight with Michelle being the Avatar, everything was going ok until...

Wes- "BOTS!"

Then everything changed when the boys attacked.

The Battle of the Sexes had begun.

The younger set of guys ran in and grabbed random colored pillows to throw at us, girls. Some of the guys even brought their own pillows.

Wes and Logan ganged up on Emily till Sarah came to her rescue. David and Brandon plowed into the Earth fort and used that as their personal pillow ammo pile. Hannah started chasing Michael after he threw a pillow at her head. It probably was meant to hit her lower than that but he got too close so now he was on the run.

There were at least 10 guys that I only officially met once so I didn't remember their names battling Aria, Cassy, Michelle, Jessica, and Kaylie. Louise was bravely protecting the snack table from rogue pillows.

Kyle- "Oh Karen."

Karen- "Ah oh."

With a pillow in each hand, he threw them both at me, right hand first then the left.

Right, then I stopped waiting the battle between the girls and the guys, all I was focusing on was battling anyone who happened to throw a pillow at me.

Step to the left and jump. Land, grabs two randoms pillows and gives chase. Hit Kyle with one, grab another. David and Brandon ambush me. Retreat, jump to the side, turn, and retaliate. Being backed into the corner by Kyle, David, and Brandon. Arms raised up to protect my head, peeking through them, spot Hannah sneaking up on the guys attacking me.

She got them, take the chance to grab a bunch of pillows, pelt them till escape route is open. Run towards Sarah and Emily. Both Hannah and I join their fight. Soon all of the girls are in one line and the guys are in another just throwing pillows bask and forth laughing.

I couldn't tell which side was winning but it didn't really matter. It was just plain fun, mindless fun for everyone.

"What are you boys doing here!"

All of the boys froze and ever so slowly turned to face the booming drill sergeant voice.

It was one of the guys that Doc Raf hung out with during meal times. He looked to be around the same age as Doc Raf if not older. He was tall and well muscled for a man his age. His hair was silvery white in a style that reminded me of Caption Archer from Star Trek Enterprise with longer hair. His eyes were blue enough that they could have been his Bot's optics. From this distance, I was just barely able to read his name tag, John.

Wes- "Ah hey, John."

John- "Don't hey John me. What are you doing here!"

Wes- "Ah... Having a pillow fight?"

The guys started edging away from Wes as John marched on up to him.

He leaned in close and whispered, "Now, tell me Was, are you a girl?"

Wes- "Excuse me?"

John- "It's a simple question. Are you or are you not a girl."

Wes- "Um... No sir?"

John- "Is that a question?"

Wes- "No sir. I'm not a girl sir."

John- "Good. *Glances at the other boys* Are you boys girls?"

All of them slowly shook their heads. That was the spark that set off the bomb.

John- "Then why in the blazes are you in a girls-only slumber party! You lollygagging pipsqueaks better hustle it before I make you drop and give me a hundred for disturbing the ladies! Move it! Move it! Pick up those knees!"

The boys scattered and ran for their lives as John's words chased them out of the room. With safely outside, John gave a derisive snort before turning to us ladies.

John- "The boys didn't get up to too much mischief when they were here?"

Emily- "Nope, they just had a pillow fight with us."

Aria- "And possibly stole some of our snacks but nothing too manger."

John- "Good. If it's alright with you ladies, I'll ask to have this section of the based blocked so no more mischief on their part can happen tonight. You'll be able to access everything in this corridor without issue, but if you leave it you won't be able to come back."

Sarah- "Good plan. Thank you, John."

John- "Welcome. Good night ladies."

Everyone- "Night."

We waited for the sound of the corridor locking before we all fell into a fit of giggles.

Hannah- "Did you see the look on their faces?"

Kaylie- "It was like Unicron the Unmaker was coming after them."

Deciding to mimic a quote from one of my favorite fanfics, "I AM JOHN! CHAOS BRINGER AND HERDER OF INFANTS! Bwahahaha, that was hilarious. Totally reminded me of Ironhide."

Louise- "Say you don't think he is Ironhide do you?"

Karen- "No idea. For all I know he could be Redalert."

Everyone- "Naw!"

Emily- "I think we're all done with pillow fighting for a bit. What does everyone want to do next? We can do a mini spa, play a round of Apples to Apples, True or Dare, or we can tell campfire stories."

Cassy- "If we had smores, that would go great with some old spooky campfire stories."

Emily- "Well we don't have actual smores but I have the next best thing. Smore brownies."

Michelle- "I vote for story time then. Who's with me?"

Everyone gave consent. With the next activity decided, we quickly gathered stray pillows and made ourselves a pillow blank nest. Aria and Louise brought over most of the snakes along with pop bottles.

Sarah- "Who goes first?"

Karen- "I can if no one minds."

Emily- "Sure go ahead."

Karen- "Okey, this is a story that has only been told once...

 _In the beginning of the world, Man did not exist yet. The world was full of magic then and ruled by the animals. Each animal was part of a tribe and each tribe had a role to play in this young world. One tribe stood out among the rest for they were the guardians of the magic._

 _They were the Wolves. A family oriented tribe that was lead by the Alpha Father and Alpha Mother. The Alpha's loved each of their pups and bestowed the gift of transformation to each. But this gift could only be used once if not caste under the light of the moon._

 _There was peace during Alpha Father's rule, but as time passed his strength slowly withered away with each year. He knew that he would have to pass the care of the pack to one of his pups but he had to pick the pup that showed themselves worthy of the role._

 _He said to Alpha Mother, "I have hunted with our sons and have seen them rash and foolish. They forget to watch the other's back. I fear that none of our pups are ready for my role."_

" _Father, you forget our daughters. I have hunted with them as much as you have hunted with our sons. Most of them are foolish like their brothers, but there is one that is able to raise her head above juvenile behavior. She would make an excellent Alpha."_

" _It should be the next Father chosen first. The other tribes pick the next Father in their lines, and then they pick the next Mother."_

" _Yes, but we are not like the other tribes. We protect the magic of this world. The Alpha should be someone who understands this role. You said your sons do not understand this yet. One of your daughters does. She knows this and will not choose a mate unless he is worthy of being Alpha."_

" _Which one of our daughters do you speak of?"_

" _I speak of the one with a coat as white as the moon."_

" _You truly believe she is ready for this responsibility?"_

" _Yes, I do."_

" _I trust your sight. I will tell the rest of the tribe tonight."_

 _That night, Father named his daughter the next Alpha and gave her the name Moon for her white coat. The tribe rejoiced for Moon not only come of the age to be named, but she would be just as strong and kind as her Father had been._

 _All but one rejoiced for Moon. He was the oldest of the sons but that was the only thing that made him stand out. He didn't have a Coal Black or a Pure White coat. His coat was neither Earth Brown or Cloud Grey. He was referred to as Wolf until he became of age._

 _He thought, "My sister has stolen my place with her looks! I must get rid of her to take back my rightful place."_

 _Wolf search among the other tribes for a magic that would allow him to get rid of his sister. But no one controlled a magic that could kill. No one could help him, until the Spider._

 _Spider was a trickster every animal knew this but Wolf chose to listen to his words._

" _Little Wolf, I can help you take back your place. I can teach you how to spin a web so strong that you can trap your sister."_

" _She won't be able to escape this web?"_

" _Not unless she transforms into something else."_

" _But that is no good. She will simply change back to her true form and tell the others what I have done."_

" _Not if she changes during a Black Moon. She will be trapped in her new form and she can not be the Alpha if she is no longer a wolf."_

 _Wolf soon began his month-long training. Each night he would take on the Spider's shape and learn how to spin the most interact web._

 _Spider would always warn him, "Remember my web only lasts for the day it was spun."_

 _On the day of the Black Moon, Wolf asked his sister to come meet him after dark. He said that he wanted to show her the new magic he had learned._

 _Believing him, she went the cave._

" _Brother? Where are you? Tonight is so black that I can't see you. Ah, what is this?"_

" _That is my web dear Sister. Do you like it?"_

" _I can't move. Why have you done this?"_

" _You stole my place with your looks."_

" _You really think Father and Mother chose me for my looks?"_

" _Yes, and with you trapped here, I will take back my rightful place."_

" _Fool! The rank of Alpha has to be earned. I weep for you if you truly think me being gone is all it takes."_

" _Then I will do this to all of our brothers and sisters until I am chosen as Alpha. Goodbye, dear Sister."_

 _Moon called his name many times but she was alone. She wept for her family that was now in danger of her brother."_

" _Little Moon, do not weep I know how you can get out of that web."_

" _Who is that?"_

" _It is I, Spider."_

" _Spider! I know of your tricks. You taught my brother Wolf this evil one. I will not listen to you. I just have to wait till dawn now that I know Wolf his spinning from you."_

" _Yes, my web only lasts the day it was spun. But this is not my web. This is Wolf's. In his anger, he spun a web full of a magic that will make it last for eternity."_

" _Lies."_

" _I speak only the truth. I just don't tell all of it all at once."_

 _Moon reflected back on the stories she heard of Spider's tricks on the other animals and knew that he was telling the truth. He always told the truth._

" _How can I escape this web?"_

" _The only way you can escape is by changing your form."_

" _But it is the Black Moon tonight. I will be trapped in the new form."_

" _Which is better, being trapped without anyone to heard? Or trapped in a new form, free to travel the world and tell your story?"_

" _I need to warn the tribe. Wolf can't be allowed to carry on his tricks."_

" _Then choose your new form wisely. Your brother has a head start on you."_

" _Then I will take on wings, for that is the only way to catch up."_

 _Moon summoned the magic that was given to her at birth. Her snout became a beak, her legs into webbed feet and wings. She was free of the web._

" _Now why the webbed feet, dear Moon?"_

" _Wolf never learned how to swim. When I need to rest, I will be able to sleep on the water."_

 _Moon flew from the cave, heading to the den where her tribe rested. She beat her brother and told the tribe his evil deeds. They waited for Wolf to arrive._

 _The sun arose before another entered the den._

 _Surprised at who had entered, Father asked, "Spider why are you here?"_

" _I am not Spider! Do you not recognize me? I am Wolf! Who is that duck sitting next to you?"_

" _I am no duck! I am Moon."_

" _Haw! You are trapped as a duck forever. My plan worked. I have taken back my rightful place."_

 _But Mother saw the flaw in Wolf's plan. "But you are also trapped in a form not your own."_

" _I'm not! See!"_

 _He called upon his magic, forcing the transformation to happen but nothing happened._

 _Mother reminded him, "If you use your gift on the night of the Black Moon, you will never be able to transform again. You have fallen for your own trap."_

" _But Spider said the web only lasts the day it was spun."_

 _Moon spoke then, "He said_ _ **his**_ _web. He never said how long yours would last."_

 _Wolf's now spider face contorted in rage, "This is all your fault, Moon! I will kill you!"_

 _Wolf jump towards his sister. Moon reacting fast was able to avoid his pincer's poisoned bite._

 _Wolf cried out, "I will hunt you done Moon! No matter where you fly, I will find you."_

" _Then I will fly to only the deepest lakes and dive to hide from your sight. I'm sorry brother for your loss. Goodbye, my tribe, I will always sing to you."_

 _The Father called back to her, "And we will always sing back. You will always be loved."_

 _With tears staining her feathers, Moon flew to the Great lakes to hide from her brother._

 _With Moon safely away Father turn to his wayward son, "Wolf you are now named Wolf Spider. You name will be forever hated for your dissect. We will not sing to you nor you us."_

" _And I will bite all who dare come close. Goodbye!"_

 _Wolf Spider traveled to Spider's home for he also blamed Spider for his downfall. But Spider was gone._

" _Curse you Spider and your web. I will never use a web to hunt again and I will kill all of your children."_

 _Wolf Spider then went in search of Moon but was never able to find her on land or on the water. For she had changed from the white duck he knew._

 _Moon, on that faithful day, flew to the Great Lakes and wept for both his, her, and her family's loss. She wept for so long that her eyes turned red and her feathers were stained black._

" _I am alone. My song no longer is a happy one. My feathers are no longer white like the moon. I have lost the only family I have ever known. I am no longer Moon. Now I am Loon. My name is has a part of my past and a reminder for the next generation._

 _Now you know why the Wolf Spider is always anger and never uses his web. The reason why the Loon wears black feathers. Why the Loon's eyes are always red. Why Loon's song is like that of the Wolf's._

 _This is the story of Loon and the Wolf Spider._

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-Story): Deep Thought states in a British voice, "Now it's time to Answer Reviews with Allora."**

 **Allora- "Thanks, Thought. The fanfiction Karen kind of Quotes is _The Diego Diaries_ by arctapus. The story she tells everyone at the end is a story I made up a long time ago. I was the only girl at BoyScout camp. That day a wolf spider crawled in one of the boys' tents and scared them half to death. The where loons on the lake each night and I always thought they sounded like wolves. So that night I made up a crude version of the Loon and the Wolf Spider based on Native American storytelling. It's my own work and you are free to tell it at your campfires. Now to the reviews. **

**katmar1994, the story is based on VR games like Sword Art Online is and is inspired by a lot of VR books I have read.**

 **What Lies Beyond, it's ok if you miss a chapter or two. I just love hearing from you guys. Glad you like the relaxed chapters I actually kind of enjoy them for their like heart moments.**

 **CrackleShot-The-Sparkeater, well the boys did crash the party. We'll have to see if they can get past John's lock.**

 **CMDOBlitzin, lol I knew it. I don't know your friends but I already like them. Finally, your BOTS makes it into the story. There will be more in future chapters.**

 **CybertronDefense, I can tell you right now that one of the guys is from Michigan. I've known he was from there for a long time, Karen just hasn't gotten to really know him yet. She will and will stumble onto the other guys' home states. Also, Ratchet might actually thank the Ops team after wrenching them for making sure Prowl took his meds.**

 **SnazzyFighter098, Lol poor thing. Well, a table didn't get tripped over but I hope the fight was good. I might need little practice writing fight scenes. :P**

 **praxian, Oh no. Don't go banging your head on the table. :p That kills brain cells. Anyway love that you love the story. Keep thinking on it.**

 **Dragonia, Glad you like the story. All NPCs in the game have some degree of intelligence in order to interact with the players in a realist way. The Cassetibots were coded to be bonded to Blaster but the player behind Blaster is slightly different than what the coding was designed for. Thus, they are working on updating their coding with Blaster, a.k.a getting to know him. Your other questions will be addressed in later chapters because they are plot points in the story. ;)**

 **Hugs and Strenth everyone. I should update on time nest week if there are no real life emergencies. Or Deceptiglitches. Also, my sib graduated high school! His ceremony was today. So proud.**


	35. Ch34 Needle

**Author's Note (Mini-Story): Allora walks out of her office car to find the rest of the team playing a game of King in the Corner. she turns to the readers.**

 **Allora- "Hey guys. Sorry, I'm late. I missed the update last week because a series of mini-life-emergencies popped up that lead to my writing day disappearing. With me working full time, I only have one day to really work on the chapter and if I miss it, it's very unlikely that I will be able to update on time. Thanks, Cybertronian defense for checking to see if I'm still alive.**

 **For future reference, if I miss one week of updating since my last, assume that mini-life-emergencies ate my writing day. For example, Deceptiglitches, random family events, and unplanned stuff.**

 **If there every was an emergency that meant I wouldn't be able to update for over 2 weeks, I would either write an Author's Note that would eventually be replaced by a chapter to let you guys know what's what or have one of my family members hack my account to post a Family Note. It would be most likely my Mom for latter situation. She's an avid supporter of this fanfiction and hates it when updates don't happen on time. Hugs Mom.**

 **I'll answer reviews after the chapter, so on with the show."**

* * *

Ch.34 Needle

After campfire story time, the slumber party was just like like any other. We had mini-spa, some board games, and a movie marathon.

The movie marathon was just us groaning at all the things that Michael Bey did completely wrong for our favorite Transformers. Yes, the fight scenes and the soldiers were great but that was just about it. When Emily mentioned that one of her Dad's friends told them that the Fifth Beyverse movie would involve Excalibur, that was many mix emotions.

I decided that I would like to eventually see the movie just to see how bad it was and if there were any good characters to play around with in the future.

By then, I was feeling the wonkiness of my sleep schedule of the past day. I was super tired even though I had gotten a nap in earlier. I had to bail on the rest of the party, but I couldn't stay up any longer.

My made myself a pillow fort nest and promptly fell asleep, the kind that is so absolute that you don't even dream. For which I was thankful for since my dreams lately involved something to do with my future paperwork load.

I'm not sure when everyone else hit the hay or if they gossiped about who was who, but I can safely say that I was the first one up.

At all the other slumber parties that I have attended in the past, I always manage to wake up way too early. Like 6 in the morning early, even when I was doggone tired the night before. I don't know why this happens, maybe some weird instinct to wake up early to make sure no monsters got us girls in the middle of the night, but I always have to play the "do I pretend that I'm still asleep game".

I always have a battle of wills over whether or not I try to get up and move around without waking anyone else up. I could try to get up and move around but then I run the risk up waking someone at "Gwa why u up its not even mornin" hour. Or I could stay in my nest bored out of my mind since I don't have a book to read.

I left my communicator in my room last night cause I didn't want to get distracted, or have somebot try to talk to Prowl. That would have ended well.

What to do, what to do?

Poking my head out, I surveyed the landscape. The slumbering girls were scattered about so that there was space enough to walk around without stepping on someone. But you would still get offly close. Some of them could be a light sleeper and even breathing too hard could wake them up.

I could walk the room's edge against the wall and try to make a break for the door. But, Emily could have planned a special breakfast for just us girls to be delivered but the cleaning drones.

Electric motor revving, stop, thunk!

What was that! There shouldn't be any drones in here.

The sound was coming from over by the entertainment area, near the shelves. Slowing my head away from the door, my line of sight was interrupted by one of the couches.

Great just great. Now I'll for sure have to get up so I can see who's messing around.

I called upon my inner ninja and slithered out of my nest. I cringed every time the fabric of my pjs made a sound that was too loud for my likely. But the sound of gears and motors didn't stop so I must have been quite enough for whoever it was.

I made it to the couch and poked my head over the top. There was a drone aright. It was the same as the others, but it had a metal basket on the back of it to carry things. It appeared to be replaying the current movies on the shelf with new ones.

It was doing a good job, but the movie in it's left servo jumped out of its grasp, thunked the floor, and opened to pages? That wasn't a movie, it was a book.

The drone turned to pick up the book and paused when its eye optics landed on me. It froze for 10 heartbeats. Then paused whatever it was doing and buzzed off for its doggie door and was gone.

Well, that was odd. There shouldn't have been any drones in here at all, Emily signed the place out. Did she just say on the sign out that no cleaning drones should be in here, and that drone wasn't considered a cleaning drone? It was switching out the titles available or something. But if it was ok for it to be in here, why did it run away when I spotted it? Maybe it checked it's programming to see how to react to a human and found that it wasn't even supposed to be in here and corrected it's error.

Still careful to not wake anyone, I tiptoed over to the book and picked it up.

 _The Tinman Tales_

 _The Omnibus Collection of Ironhide Fanfiction_

 _By Leah Wood_

No way this can't be what I think it is.

Turning the page the table of contents confirmed my suspicions.

 _Tinman 1_

 _Tinman: The Untold Chapters 150_

 _Boys Meet My Truck 190_

 _A Word From Fire Redhead 235_

I can't believe it. This was a hard copy of a someone's fanfiction, of Fire Redhead's fiction. Fire Redhead always signs her fanfictions with what I always assumed was her real name. The Tinman stories were one of the first fanfictions that I ever read, and was still one of my favorites.

Is Hasbro now paying fanfiction writers to publish their work? Or are they receiving special permission by the authors to have a special private library made solely for the Alpha team of Transformers Revolution?

Quickly I skimmed the new items on the shelf. There were several books that I recognized and a few I didn't. Some of the books I didn't recognize had the word Fanfiction embossed on the cover in gold.

Cool! We can read our favorite fanfictions when they are complete. That is so awesome. I was wondering how I could keep track of my favorites while stuck in NEST.

With _Tinman_ in hand, I snuck back to my nest and read till everyone else woke up.

* * *

"Hrm...So did you enjoy the party?"

Prowl- "Ia waa hine, whay? *Puffs*"

Ratchet stumbled back away from my propped open maw, shooing the puff clouds away from his face.

Ratchet- "Pfft! Do you mind! You're not at the Dentist! Stop trying to use your yapper while I'm working."

While then, stop acting like one.

It was afternoon now. The gals all went to breakfast together before calling the party over. Everyone was as amazed as I was to the fact that some of our favorite fanfictions were available to us.

For the rest of the morning, I worked in the Greenhouse with Hannah. Somehow, weeds managed to work their way into an area that should have been completely blocked off for their influence.

My best guess was that someone had some seeds stuck on their work boots when building the base. Hannah joked that they planted the weeds on purpose to remind us how annoying they are.

I had asked Ratchet earlier to confirm that it was ok for me to log in for my morning and lunch cubes, but he said nope. He apparently talked to Prime and agreed that my punishment would be repaying medical somehow.

Now I was stuck being Ratchet's guinea pig for the first two hours of my shift.

Switching to my internal comm, I texted Ratchet, **The party was fun, thanks for asking. And if you don't want me to talk with my mouth open, then don't ask questions when it's stuck open thanks to you. This is really uncomfortable.**

Ratchet waved it off, "Quit your belly aching. *Snort*"

Well haha.

Ratchet wanted to learn how well the medicine he had me on was working. But in order to see that, I would have to stop taking the medicine for a short period of time so there wouldn't be any of the sticky coating on my intake. Thanks to my punishment of not being allowed to log in, I haven't been able to take my medicine for 20 hours.

Unfortunately for him, there was still a good amount of medication still present in my systems. Ratchet didn't really think about the fact that when we log off, our frame's bodies only metabolize a small amount the Energon in our tanks. This function was one of the many features used if we ever needed to go into long-term stasis according to Ratchet's medical pads.

Unfortunately for me, that didn't stop him from wanting to take a looky-loo down my throat. So he has a device that was similar to what you would find at the orthodontist's office. It was designed to keep my mouth opened and make it easier for Ratchet to look down my gullet.

Normal, I found being at the orthodontist's and dentists really relaxing, but with my empty tanks, the experience was uncomfortable. Add Ratchet's maleficence to the mix, and you got something close to pure torcher.

Ratchet- "The medication is working well. The amount of foreign partials in your system has gone down by 42.8 percent. Right on schedule."

Prowl- **Is there any way to get the partials out faster?**

Ratchet- "Possible, why?"

Prowl- **Because it is hard to read reports with smog in the way and I'm tired of being followed by a prevalent fog everywhere I go.**

Ratchet- "Well you don't have to wait long. At most, you only have four more days of this."

Prowl- **That is four days too long.**

Ratchet- "Well, if my idea works, it will only be two more."

Prowl- **That's still too long.**

Ratchet- "Too bad."

Prowl- **:[**

Ratchet- "*Snort* Why are you texting instead of using your inner voice or whatever?

Switching to my inner voice, _"A. I felt like it and B. have you ever tried changing the volume on your inner voice? It doesn't change! A whisper and a shout are exactly the same."_

Ratchet dropped his the flashlight he was using and covered his audio receptors, "Would you turn it down!"

Mentally shouting, " _What?"_

Ratchet- "I said turn it down. You might not be able to hear it but I can!"

Switching to mentally whispering, _"I'm sorry, Ratchet. Is this better?"_

Ratchet's hands dropped away from his respecters and he gave me a glare that said No it blasting not and you know it.

And now back to my scheduled texting, **See? I can't hear the difference between a shout and a whisper in my head.**

Ratchet- "Baw, you can too. You obviously know the difference when comming me."

Prowl- **But that doesn't change the fact that I can't hear it.**

Ratchet- "I don't believe it."

Prowl- **I dare you to try it.**

Ratchet just rolled his optics, "Fine."

He just crossed his arms and smirked at my not unlike Sideswipe's, but as the seconds passed, his optics widen in shock.

Prowl- **Told you. :P Am I free to go yet?**

Ratchet- "No."

Prowl- **But I need to meet with Seaspray. We're supposed to begin training today.**

Ratchet- "He has been informed that you will be delayed due to medical reasons. He can wait."

Prowl- **Fine.**

Ratchet hmmed and huffed while looking at my intake. I personally think he had finished looking at a long time ago and was only doing it to bug me.

When he finally had the device that was keeping my mouth opened, I relaxed. So happy to have my mouth closed.

I moved to get up.

Ratchet- "Naw aw. Sit your rump down. We're not done yet."

Prowl- "Didn't we get everything done that you needed?"

Ratchet- "Yes, but there is a project that you want to be a part of."

What could that be? Unless!

Prowl- "You found the anti-virus and anti-malware software for our processors?"

Ratchet pulled out a datapad from subspace, "Yes, I did."

Prowl- "Is that it on the datapad?"

Ratchet- "This is a copy. The original program is stored on a datapad designed so that's it only features are to store the program and to copy it onto other datapad and chips."

Prowl- "Why would you design a datapad like that."

Ratchet- "To keep the program sterile."

Prowl- "Excuse me?"

Ratchet- "In hospitals Earthside, what is the most important thing?"

Prowl- "To keep things sterile to help prevent disease and infection. Wait, are you saying that the program could get infected by a bot if used directly? Shouldn't it be able to withstand infection since that is what it is designed for?"

Ratchet- "It would if it was active. The program is dormant so your processor can integrate it into its systems without everything being attacked. Like a vaccine that uses a dead virus to encourage antibodies, the program is dead and your processor designs a new program based off of the original coding. This way, the software knows what is normal for your processor and what should be considered foreign."

Prowl- "And since everybot's processor is different, you don't want a rogue software to infect the original programming. It's just like needles, you don't want to use it for multiple people. *Frown* Do you even have enough chips to be used as "Needles" for patches to our processors?"

Ratchet- " There's no worry about my stock of Needle chips, as you call them, I can sterilize them."

Prowl- "How?"

Ratchet- "Magnets."

Prowl- "But magnets would completely destroy them and make them useless for the future."

Ratchet- "Earthside yes. But Cybertronians have techniques to only magnetically destroy the software and not the hardware."

Prowl- "So it's not like a VHS tape but more like the factory setting on a memory card?"

Ratchet- "Factory setting on a memory card?"

Prowl- "Memory cards used in cameras have a feature that's supposed to wipe them completely clean of data, including the residue of past photos. The feature is called the factory setting."

Ratchet- "But the chip still contains data on how to access this feature afterward."

Prowl- "I guess. The feature is to make the chip just like it came out of the factory."

Ratchet- "Well, the sterilization process for my Needle chips wipes them completely clean of any data. Including dormant data. There is no software left when done."

Prowl- "That doesn't sound very safe for a race of being who's memories are ones and zeros."

Ratchet- "It's not. The chips have to be put in a radiation-tight machine so the process can't affect us."

Prowl- "But what if the seal on the machine isn't airtight?"

Ratchet- "Then you're frame stops being able to function and your spark extinguishes from starvation."

Prowl- "Oh."

Ratchet- "Oh indeed. But don't worry, our machine is safe."

Prowl- "How do you know that?"

Ratchet- "I used it."

Prowl- "That was really unsafe and why would you even use it...No!"

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-Story): The gang is working to set up a temporary campsite while Allora answers letters.**

 **Allora- "CalicoKitty402, glad you're loving the story. praxian, so glad that I could add a smile to your day. This story and its readers always adds a smile to mine. Jazzilynn Hall, lol love it. It's really fun to see you guys (and gals) thought processes for who is who."**

 **Deep Thought- "No Spoilers."**

 **Allora- "We know. adelphe24, again so glad you liked Loon and the Wolfspider. The boys at AllStar camp liked it too. ;). Also, you guys are every worried if I'm still alive. Feel free to give me a shout, I don't mind. Hugs and Strenth."**


	36. Ch35 Here There Be

**Author's Note (Mini-Story): Allora crawled out of her tent and stretched. It was a beautiful day to head out on the tracks of the story.**

 **Allora- "Good morning everybody!"**

 **Everyone else- "Good morning."** **Allora turned to the readers, "Hey guys, yay an update on time. I'll answer reviews after this chapter. Now on with the show."**

* * *

Ch.35 Here There Be...

Prowl- "That was really unsafe..."

My mind raced. Why would Ratchet use the device? The only reason why he would even use it would be to test the safety but that would require a chip to test it on. A medical chip with the anti-virus and malware installed.

"and why would you even use it..."

The very program that he was now offering to install into my helm. How does he even know that the program is safe? Unless.

"No!"

Ratchet startled and stepped back from my outburst. The fact that my doorwings where now straight up in anger probably helped him decide that it was safer to be far away from me.

My voice dropped to a whisper, "You didn't. Tell me you didn't do what I think you did. Please."

Ratchet- "What do you think I did?"

"You used yourself as a guinea pig," with each word that tumbled out of my mouth, my voice rose. "You took a potentially lethal program and downloaded it into your head. How could you! You know perfectly as well as I do that the programs in our processors could cause us serious mental harm. And you willy nilly plop one into your helm. You the only real doctor that we have on the team. You who are possibly the closest we are ever going to get to an actual Cybertronian Medic. Did you even stop to consider what could have happened? We could have lost you. Everything that you are could have been wiped out."

Ratchet- "Now Karen."

Prowl- "Oh don't you ,Now Karen, me Doctor Raphael. Don't you dare try to downplay this. Your mind could be gone and your body just an empty shell of the man that you are now. You are the only you that is ever going to be in any world. You would have been gone forever."

I whirled to face the presences that I felt was standing in the medbay doorway. It was Firstaid and Optimus standing the there gaping at me. Ratchet tried to take advantage of my momentary pause.

Ratchet- "Karen, I only did what I did to protect the team. You don't know..."

Prowl- "What do you mean you did it for the team! If you think sacrificing yourself for the team is noble, think again. It is selfish! You would have left everyone behind. You would have left as alone."

I as venting heavily, my frustration and anger trying to dissipate after my rant. I stared at Ratchet, but I didn't see the mech. I saw Doctor Raphael the man standing before me. His brown eyes pleading with me to understand.

Firstaid cautiously walked towards me and laid a hand on my arm. "Karen?"

I turned to look at Firstaid, but like with Raphael, I saw only Kaylie. The sweet red that I've gotten to know over the weeks before the Game truly started. My friend who looked out for me on and off the set.

Firstaid- "Doctor Raphael didn't test the program on himself. I was the first one to test it."

Prowl- "Wait. What? You! You were the test subject? How could you? We could have lost you!"

Firstaid shook his helm, "Karen, someone had to be the first. Ratchet tested the program on the computer and on our medical dummy droid over hundred times. He even fought with me on why I shouldn't be the one to test just as had as you are ranting to him right now. But someone had to the first if we want to be protected from viruses that could do worst damage. It was better that I was the one under the knife since Raphael actually had some understanding of what to do if something went wrong. Besides, the way the program is downloaded into the processor is designed to be the safest way possible. A dead program that your subconscious builds a working program around that can function with your metal processes.

My wings wilted, "But?"

Optimus- "Prowl. Karen. It was there choose. You shouldn't berate them for it. What's done is done. It's the past, it's time to move forward. *Optics turn up in amusement* Besides, I was also one of the test subjects for the upgrade."

Again, my wings shot up in anger, "Prime!"

Optimus put his hand in the "stand down soldier position". "Karen. Calm down. We all needed to get this upgrade eventually. It's better that Doctor Raphael had two willing mentally healthy individuals to test and observe the program at work. That was Thursday. Yesterday, while you were grounded, the rest of the Autobots came in and had the program installed. There was no issue for anyone. That's why we feel it's safe for you to download the program now."

I sighed and slumped on my perch, "I just wish you guys talked to me about this before going forward. After what happened to me, I at least feel like I should be included in these kinds of decisions."

Optimus- "And you would reject everyone but yourself to be the first test subject. Don't deny it. During Tuesday's meeting, you said that it was best that the accident happened to you. If the accident didn't happen, you would have wanted to be the first test subject."

Prowl- "I...conside on that statement, Prime. But that doesn't change the fact that I believe that I should have been included in the decision-making process."

Ratchet- "I'll think about it in the future. Now, the download of the program has to happen while you're logged in. The download pausing if you log out. The process takes a while, so do you want to lay down or use one of the new medical chairs Huffer whipped up?"

Prowl- "The chair would be preferable."

Firstaid- "Cool, I'll get it out of the storage room. Be right back."

The medbay was dead silent except for my still heavy venting. I had to wonder why Optimus and Firstaid had come in when they did. Did Ratchet call them while I was still shouting, so they could help explain the situation?

The side room door that Firstaid had disappeared behind, cracked open. A snow white chair with a red medical cross embroidered on the headrest wheeled out with Firstaid following with the orange shock blanket from before.

The chair looked just like my office chair. My doorwings were telling me that the fabric on the chair was designed for medical proposes. So if the chair was to be soiled, the medics could hose down the chair with water and sterilizer. Making the chair easier to clean and really efficient to do so. It was the perfect chair for the med bay.

The chair was wheeled over to a set of monitors. While Ratchet set those up, Firstaid helped me into the shock blanket so I would be comfortable during the download process.

Settling down into the chair, I got into the comfortable position of my legs being tucked up on the chair with most of my back in one corner. Ratchet gently took my right arm and laid it on the arm rest and strapped it down.

Ratchet- "Now Karen, I'm going to access the ports throughout your arm. One of the ports will be the place the medical chip will be inserted. The other ports will house the cables that will provide the monitors with information on your status. During the download, you will enter a semi-offline state. You will still be logged in but you will not be able to access any of your systems that you are using right now. It will feel like your falling asleep, like you are dreaming. Do you understand?"

Prowl- "Yes. How long does this normal take?"

Ratchet- "It varies for each individual. A couple of hours at best."

Prowl- "Alright. I guess I'll see you all when I wake up."

Optimus- "That you will."

Firstaid- "See you later, Karen."

Ratchet pressed my armor in different places that cause the armor to split and move out of his way. As he was putting in the monitor wires, I started the process of returning to my Dreamscape. I was boarding the edge of awareness when the medical chip was finally slipped in.

The fairy trail light up underneath my feet, beckoning me to return to my hidden meadow in the forest. But I had to wait for the program that Ratchet was downloading into my processor. The mist that separated the forest edge from awareness swirled from unseen wind currents. Suddenly, a shadow appeared in the mist.

Well, I guess that's the program. I better go get it.

Reaching into the mist, I grasped the object and pulled it into my Dreamscape. It looked like an egg.

Heading over to the glade, I observed the "egg." It was a simple thing. The size of a volleyball, it looked like a normal white egg you would find in a supermarket. But this thing was to be the basis of my anti-virus program. How?

Sitting down, I placed the in front of me. How could this thing fit into this place? The program was a bunch of 1s and 0s designed to keep out viruses and malware out of my head. How could this fit into my mind?

This program was designed to keep viruses from infecting me, to stop them before they even touch my mind. Thread.

Thread, an alien spore in the book series called _Dragonriders of Pern_ by Anne McCaffrey. The Thread would travel from its home planet and seek out Pern, a planet full of life, to infect. The Thread when it touched the ground would borrow in, suck the life out of the earth, and decompose all organic matter.

The colonists of Pern found a way to beat this threat to their survival. They breed dragons to defend their home. The dragons of Pern could sense Thread and burn it out of the sky. With the ability to teleport to any place seen on the planet helped their cause to fight the threat. The dragons also had the ability to read minds for their intent.

Creatures like that could be the best type of anti-virus software for my mind.

With my decision made, the egg cracked. Out came two golden creatures. They both had compound eyes that changed color with their mood. Ear-like appendages on their heads that reminded me of Shrek. Leathery skin that would harden with time. Their wings that resembled bat wings. The only difference between the two was their sizes.

The first creature was the size of a Great Dane. I knew that she was a Queen Dragon and would produce the other dragons that would populate my Dreamscape and protect me from viruses and malware, the Thread of my mind. Her name was Ramoth, named for the Queen in the first book, _Dragonflight._

The second creature was the size of a gecko. She was a Fire lizard, Queen. Fire lizards were the creatures that the dragons were bred from. This Fire lizard was going to produce more fire lizards which would then be the second line of defense. Their small size allowed them to get into places the larger dragons could not and case and Thread that manage to infect my mind. Her name would Gnall, named for the first Fire Lizard to be impressed by the Dragonriders after they had become nothing more than a myth.

Both Ramoth and Gnall will grow with time. This growth would be based on how well they knew my mind. Ramoth should grow to be the size of a draft horse while Gnall should grow to the size of a chihuahua.

Ramoth's voice sounded throughout the Dreamscape.

"Hello, Karen."

"Hello Ramoth, Gnall. Do you two understand why you're here?"

Ramoth answered for the both of them. "We're a program designed to protect your processor from viruses and malware. In your Dreamscape, these will that the shape of Thread. We are not self-aware. We are your mind's representation of accessing the anti-virus and malware program and implementing it. We are to scan anything entering your processor and destroy it if presents a danger. We will tell you of everything destroyed and ask if it is alright to destroy the program if we are unsure of its intent. We are not to explore your normal functioning state for future reference."

So basically, my new imagery friends. Cool.

"Alright then, I'll let you get on with your job."

"We won't disappoint you, Karen. We will defend you for as long as we are functional."

"Thanks."

Leaving Ramoth and Gnall in the glade, I followed the fairy path back to awareness. I onlined to find Firstaid staring me in the face plates.

Firstaid- "Ratchet! She's awake."

Ratchet- "Can't be. It's only been 10 minutes."

Prowl- "Well I'm awake, Ratchet. Sorry to burst your bubble."

Optimus was still the medbay, "Karen? How are you awake."

Prowl- "I'm done. The program's done."

Ratchet- "That can't be right. It should take at least 20 minutes."

Prowl- "You said yourself that everyone is different."

Ratchet- "A little too fast in my opinion."

Prowl- "In any case, am I free to go?"

Ratchet waved me off, "Yes, yes. Go."

"Thanks."

I handed Firstaid my blanket and headed for the door.

Prowl- "Oh, why are you here Prime? Didn't you already get your update?"

Optimus- "Yes, but I came for another reason. Now you go train Seaspray, I know that he has been looking forward to it. I'll see you later."

Prowl- "Yes sir. Goodbye Ratchet, Firstaid."

Firstaid- "Bye."

Ratchet was glaring at the monitors that recorded my time offline, "Just get already."

Hiding my grin, I headed towards my office while texting Seaspray that I was ready to begin his training. Right away a text popped into my vision screen.

Seaspray- **Cool. I can't wait to get started. I'll meet you over at your office. Should I bring cubes for later?**

Prowl- **If you could bring a cube so I take my medication, that would be appreciated. I believe that cubes for lunch will not be needed.**

Seaspray- **Why is that, sir?**

Prowl- **You will see at lunch. Prowl out.**

It had only been a few seconds when another text appeared.

Jazz- **Hey Prowler. R U hanging with Seaspray during our date? :3**

Prowl- **Jazz it's Prowl. Seaspray and I will be training till lunch. We do not have a date.**

Jazz- **Prowler, it's a date if it's planned. ;3 See you lator gator.**

I was real tempted to text back "after while crocodile," but thought it best just to text " **Until then. Prowl out.** "

It was with a light spark that I made my way to my office. I finally had my anti-virus program, I was starting my combat training with Ironhide, Seaspray was going to help me out with battle strategy, and it was Sunday tomorrow. Life was good.

Bang!

The base shook as a mass comlink came up on my vision screen.

Perceptor- "Sorry everyone. Wheeljack tried to make so high grade. It didn't work. Perceptor out."

Yep Life was good and back to normal.

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-Story): Gang was stopped at an energon station for Deep Thought and Cliffhanger. Lancer was helping Allora answer reviews.**

 **Allora- "CrackleShot-The- Sparkeater, the story does have a way of drawing us in doesn't it? *Grins* I can never get enough of this story."**

 **Lancer- "Hey Allora look at this note from CybertronDefence."**

 **Both the girls look, laugh, and turn to stare at Cliffhanger as he was sipping his cube. He paused mid sip and turn to face the gals wirily.**

 **Cliff- "What?"**

 **The gals- "CybertronDefence says hi."**

 **Cliff- "Hi?"**

 **Lancer- "You're in trouble."**

 **Cliff- "What for?"**

 **Allora- "Last chapter."**

 **Cliff- "But that was a great ending and I was doing my job!"  
**

 **Allora- "We know Cliff. We still love you. Keep up the good work. Hmm... CMDOBlitzin, same here but sad to say that only way it could happen is if we asked writers nicely and bound our own copies of fanfiction. "**

 **Lancer- "Here's Mywinx14's, Allora. Oh wow, what a qua-inky-dink."**

 **Allora- "Let's see. *Reads it quick* OH, you poor thing. :( I'm sorry about that, but don't worry they don't last forever. I had mine during my entire Junior High career. *Finds praxian's review* Good morning, praxian or if this reaches you before you go to bed, Good Night! Pleasant dreams about games. :)"**


	37. Ch36 Homework

**Author's Note (Mini-Story): Allora came running out of her office.**

 **Allora- "I'm so sorry my readers. Work changed my schedule recently so I was thrown off my game for a bit. But good news. I will have an extra day during the week to work on this story, so there shouldn't be any late updates anymore. This chapter would have been here sooner if those two *Glares at Deep Thought and Cliffhanger* weren't dragged their peds."**

 **Cliff- "But Allora, this chapter is so."**

 **Allora- "Don't you but me. "**

 **Thought spots Lancer dragging her foot in the dirt, "Lancer you ok."**

 **Lancer- "Um, no not really. Listen, guys, I have a lot of stuff going on right now in Real Life. I'm not sure if I'll time to help you guys out anymore."**

 **Allora- "It's ok Lancer. Real life comes first. Do you know when you will come back?"**

 **Lancer- "No."**

 **Allora- "That's ok. You ready to do one more chapter together before you go?"**

 **Lancer- "Yes."**

 **Allora- "Ok then, reviews will be answered at the end."**

* * *

Ch.36 Homework

Seaspray was waiting with a cube of energon by my office door.

Seaspray held the cube out to me, "Hi Prowl."

I grabbed it while unsubspacing a medicine vile, "Hello Seaspray and thank you."

I mixed the medicine in and took a sip. Sour!

Seaspary- "Sir! Are you ok?"

Keep a straight face! Don't twitch. "I'm fine.*Puffs*"

Seaspray- "Are you sure?"

Prowl- "I'm fine. In the future, when you bring a cube to a bot taking the air intake medication, add some Manisidian to the drink for them."

Seaspray's optics widened in shock, "Is your drink super sour? I'm so sorry. I can go back and get you a better cube. Or..."

Prowl threw back my helm and finished off the cube in one gulp. Subspacing the cube as I answered, "It's fine, Seaspray. I don't require another cube. *Puffs* Now lets head inside."

I opened the door and motioned Seaspray to take a seat at one of the guest chairs while I went to my desk and got the computer set up.

Prowl-"Now I believe the best way to get your training started is by using the same battle training program as me. The game is to capture the flag with your team of dots. Each dot has a unique color and characteristics. Each level has a certain number of enemy character's to fight as triangles. The number of Computer-Generated Characters you will have to fight will increase with each level. I suggest that you try to earn three stars on a level before moving on. If you hit a snag don't be afraid to ask for my assistance. The point is to learn battle strategist, not to prove how good you are already at it. Also use your designation for your game profile, the game records our results and adjusts based on the player.*Puffs*"

I handed him my computer with the game menu displaying create a new user screen.

Seaspray smiled, "Wow, playing a game within a game. How far did you get in this."

Prowl-"Level 15.*Puffs*"

Seaspray- "Only 15? Shouldn't you be past 30?"

Prowl- "Even if your characters outnumber the enemy, it doesn't necessarily mean that your team's strength will overpower them. *Puffs*"

Seaspray- "Oh. What are you doing to be doing while I play?"

I went over to my new mailbox just as a datapad dropped in. There were quite a few sitting there.

Prowl- "Paperwork. I'm behind on it.*Puffs*"

Seaspray- "Ok then."

Seaspray went off to his gaming while I tried to keep from crying. Now you would think that being inactive for two days, Thursday was prepare for Gave shift and Friday was grounding, in the game, wouldn't generate that much paper. But sadly I was mistaken.

Not only did I have reports for the two days I wasn't present in the game. I also had Perceptor's report that I didn't complete on Wednesday along with some late reports.

Since there wasn't really a chain of command in place for reports yet, I ended up with everything cause no bot had any idea of up this was going to work. And I do mean everything.

Reading the reports, I had a section at the beginning of each report where I would write a short summary of the report. So other bots didn't have to read the whole thing like me to get the main points.

 _Redalert- Security- Monday, Day 1 of Gaming. (Late)_

 _The systems shouldn't be trusted, even though no one has had access to them before we logged for the first time and they are working perfectly. There is no real locks on the doors. Nothing is secure and the Decepticons have most likely planted a boom already. We need to have someone monitoring everything 24/7._

 _Redalert- Security Update- Monday, Day 1 of Gaming. (Late)_

 _Prowl's glitch is clearly was caused by the Decepticons. The Auto-Battle App was clearly implanted by the Decepticons to offline Prowl. We're trapped! The door is blocked._

 _Inferno- Security- Monday, Day 1 of Gaming. (Late)_

 _Redalert and Inferno checked everything and found it to be functioning despite the crash._

 _Ratchet- Medical Emergency- Day 1 of Gaming. (Late)_

 _Prowl experimented with a faulty program and is now being watched. Everyone has been informed that the program shouldn't be used. Perceptor came in due to Wheeljack's explosion._

 _Firstaid- Medical- Day 1 of Gaming. (Late)_

 _Prowl got hurt but we think he's going to be alright. We have begun to download the medical database to the Earthside computers._

 _Skyfire- Wheeljack Exploded- Day 1 of Gaming. (Late)_

 _Earlier the Science bots found that the walls were made of a cheap metal that is naturally orange. Wheeljack looked up how to process the metal so it wasn't orange and tried to replicate the process. He exploded and Perceptor received some bumps._

 _Inferno and Redalert- Night Shift- Day 1 of Gaming. (Late)_

 _Redalert stayed up all night along with assigned bots for the Grave Yard shift. There was no unusual activity but Inferno had to "Drag me (Redalert) away while the Decepticons could be infiltrating our base at this very moment don't you see?"_

 _Brawn- Door Maintenance- Tuesday, Day 2 of Gaming. (Reviewed Wednesday, Day 3 of Gaming)._

 _Two crews were formed to work on the clean-up of the main door. Cosmos, Skyfire, Gears, and Cliffjumper worked the morning shift. Beachcomber, Powerglide, Seaspray, Warpath the afternoon. As debris was removed, support beams were welded in place. The extra rockewas moved into unused corridor F7. Warpath's cannon isn't designed well for this kind of work, but its lazor setting is helpful for wielding. Brawn managed both shifts. Bots that are suggested to help in the future are as follows; Ironhide, Optimus, Hound, Trailbreaker, and Windchanger. Optimus has already volunteered to help with future shifts._

 _Ratchet- Medical- Tuesday, Day 2 of Gaming._

 _Prowl's condition is stable but he isn't allowed to train with Ironhide till Friday for safety. Medical order for Prowl to not train is in section B. A list of current medical supplies are listed in section C. Firstaid's report attached in section D._

 _Ironhide- Training Schedule For This Week- Tuesday, Day 2 of Gaming. (Late)_

 _The completed training schedule for the first week. Prowl has been banned till Friday due to medical order and by Arms Master. See both medical and Arms Master orders in Section B. Section C contains information need in battle planning._

 _Inferno- Security- Tuesday, Day 2 of Gaming. (Late)_

 _Redalert was in bed for most of the morning. Nothing has changed. Bots assigned to Grave Yard shift reported in and were trained before being left on their own._

 _Redalert- Security at Night- Tuesday, Day 2 of Gaming. (Late)_

 _Bots with no experience at security shouldn't be left alone at night. But this opinion was overruled by Optimus since be was one of the bots assigned to Tuesday night's shift. He stated, "How are bots suppose to gain experience unless they do it. Besides you need sleep Redalert."_

 _Brawn- Door Maintenance- Wednesday, Day 3 of Gaming._

 _Morning crew was Beachcomber, Skyfire, Optimus, and Powerglide. Lead by Optimus. Afternoon crew was Cliffjumper, Trailbreaker, Windchanger, and Cosmos. Lead by Brawn. Crews that have a Carrier class frame like Skyfire and Cosmos of Heavy class frames like Optimus and Ironhide, have more of the rumble moved then other crews. Suggest that there be at least one Carrier or Heavy frame on each shift from now on._

 _Ratchet- Medical- Wednesday, Day 3 of Gaming. (Late)_

 _Everyone still reporting in for check ups. Prowl still appears to be fine after the incident from Monday. Bumblebee, Steeljaw, and Prowl got into an accident and are the first bots to be taking medication in the Game._

 _Perceptor- Explosion by Wheeljack- Wednesday, Day 3 of Gaming._

 _Wheeljack tried to mix Sodium Metal with Energon. See sections B1 through B5 for why an explosion happened. See sections C1 through C20 for why it shouldn't be tried again without clearing it with other officers. See sections D1 through D30 for possible experiments in the future that need to be approved. Experiment E25 is the safest and would test the safety of High Grade that has Sodium Metal mixed in. But that would require making High Grade in the first place._

 _Ironhide- Training- Wednesday, Day 3 of Gaming. (Late)_

 _Bots reported in for training on time. Information for planning battles in Section B._

 _Redalert- Security- Wednesday, Day 3 of Gaming._

 _Still no obvious breach in security but staying vigilant. Bots assigned to night shift reported in on time._

 _Brawn- Door Maintenance- Thursday, Day 4 of Gaming._

 _Brawn delivered the Ground Penetrating Sonar to the sight shortly after the morning crew started work. Work was halted while the sonar was set up and everybot was moved to a safe are. The sonar took images of the rock wall and it is believed that door should be cleared in three days. It was decided to halt work till Friday afternoon. This is to give time for the rock wall to settle back into place and to prevent cave-ins._

 _Beachcomber- Crystalhouse Review- Thursday, Day 4 of Gaming._

 _List of pure crystals that can be found on Earth, Section 1. Section 2 are for mixed Earth crystals. Section 3 for pure alien crystals. Section 4 for mixed alien crystals. Note: The lists are incomplete due to the fact that we don't completely understand the properties applied to crystals in Cybertronian standard._

 _Skyfire- Crystalhhouse Review- Thursday, Day 4 of Gaming._

 _A detailed explanation on how to neutralize the chemicals present in the Crystalhouse followed by how to safely clean and store the waste._

 _Huffer- Inventory- Thursday, Day 4 of Gaming._

 _Wheeljacik requested and signed out one spare energon producer. We now have 19 spares. Other items that were requested today include soup, wax, ammo for Ironhide and Warpath's cannons, paint in various colors, and blank data pads. An updated inventory is attached along with the bots who requested and receive the items above. Note : Not everyone has approached Huffer for supply requests and thus we have supplies that are missing. This should be brought up during an officer meeting._

 _Wheeljack- Explosion- Thursday, Day 4 of Gaming. (Late)_

 _Wheeljack tinkered with a spare energon producer in order to attempt to create High Grade. The machine exploded when turned on. It is believed that the device itself was faulty already since Wheeljack followed a datapad on the subject of making the energon equivalent of Moonshine. Moonshine making on Earth is already risky business so it's no surprise that Cybertronian version would be just as dangerous. Note: Huffer should be notified that one of the spare energon producers is now nonexistent and should not be registered in the inventory. Note: The datapad in question has since then disappeared from its shelf in Science's Reference Library. If there's another explosion outside the labs, we will then know where the datapad is._

 _Ratchet- Medical- Thursday, Day 4 of Gaming._

 _A few bots came in today due to minor injuries from hand to hand training. Wheeljack exploded again and came in for minor repairs. The medication given to Bee and Steeljaw appears to be working fine. Prowl will have a check up on that front when he is able. Everyone is still able to report to shifts._

 _Redalert- Security- Thursdays, Day 4 of Gaming._

 _Redalert believes that the Decepticons have somehow infiltrated our number already and are currently mining information about us. But nothing indicates this._

 _Blaster- Communication- Thursday, Day 4 of Gaming._

 _Blaster has been training with Teletrran-1 and his cassectibots on the communication system. He should be able to begin testing this coming Tuesday._

 _Ratchet- Medical Order- Friday, Day 5 of Gaming._

 _Prowl was grounded from the Game this morning due to disobeying a medical order from Firstaid. Prowl is only allowed to report to Ironhide for training. Prowl isn't allowed to go anywhere but to the training rooms and straight back to his quarters._

 _Brawn- Door Maintenance- Friday, Day 5 of Gaming._

 _Work started again in the afternoon. The door could be close to complete Monday morning. We are still on schedule._

 _Ironhide- Training- Friday, Day 5 of Gaming._

 _Prowl was 15 minutes late. He didn't give an explanation but it should never happen again. Infomation for planning battles included in section b._

 _Percep_

Seaspray- "Umm, Prowl? Can I get some help with this?"

I had to offline and online my optics a few times. Wow, I was really neck deep in paperwork.

The datapads themselves if shrunken down to human size were about the same thickness as two DVD boxes held together. The length and width of the datapads resembled a table.

A stack of 10 datapads reached my neck plates, so with me having completed 28 reports. I had round three neck height stacks of completed work. Along with my last stack of reports, my desk had been taken over by reports. This was excluding the makeup reports I would have to make about the events I observed in the game, reports that would be turned in later today, and me getting Jazz and his gang to make reports about their training excesses.

Yeah, I was so ready to be distracted.

Walking around my desk so I could get a look at Seaspray's screen, "What is it that you're having a hard time with? *Puffs*"

Seaspray pointed at various bots, "I have my team set up so that 3 teams can block the enemy while a fourth gets the flag but that strategy doesn't seem to be working no matter what I do."

Prowl- "Let me see your battle history.*Puffs*"

Seaspray pulled up the history page for the program. Skimming over the battles, it didn't take me longer to put two and two together.

Prowl- "Seaspray, you do know the secret behind the colors on the dots? *Puffs*"

Seaspray- "Just that if the dot with the wave symbol dies, it's game over even if I win the round."

Prowl- "That's part of it. That dot is you. *Puffs*"

Seaspray- "That dot is maaWait! Your saying that these dots represent us?"

Prowl- "That is correct.*Puffs*"

Seaspray- "If that's the cause, then that would mean that some dots are weaker when grouped with certain dots because the character strengths wouldn't be a good match."

Prowl- "Yes. I do believe that you now have the information you need to complete this level. *Puffs*"

Seaspray- "Thank you."

Prowl- "You're welcome. *Puff*"

 _Proximity alert- Optimus is now standing outside the door._

Knock Knock.

Prowl- "The door is unlocked, Optimus. You can come in."

The door opened and Optimus walked in to see the mess that was my desk. If I wasn't mistaken, there was a fresh dent on his helm on the left side. A wrench sized dent.

Optimus- "Prowl, Seaspray. Has the workload been too much?"

Seaspray- "Not for me, Sir. I've just been trying to catch up with Prowl on training. Prowl's been the one with too much paperwork."

Prowl- "It hasn't been too much. I just received some late reports and due to my absence from the game the reports have merely pulled up. I'm almost complete.*Puffs*"

Optimus pulled out a huge box from his subspace as he was walking around to the back of my desk. "Then you wouldn't mind if I take them off your hands now."

Prowl- "Wait! The Summaries I've written aren't to standard! *Puffs*"

Too late. Optimus had already swept the piles of datapads into his box and subspace the whole thing. The nicely sorted pads were now mixed up inside his inter-dimensional pocket.

Prowl- "Why, did you do that?*Puffs*"

Optimus rubbed his bump, "I was reminded that part of my role is the read the reports too. Besides, I'm sure your summaries aren't that bad. Have a good rest of the day you two. I believe Jazz will be by soon."

Optimus left and Seaspray patted my arm in sympathy, "I'm sure that they aren't that bad."

Prowl- "I wasn't writing them for anyone else to read. They were simply to help me find the right datapad when I needed to reference them later.*Puffs*"

Seaspray- "Oh...Well, I'm sure it won't matter. Wow, I can't believe it's almost lunch. My tanks sure are empty."

A comlink from Optimus appeared.

Optimus- Oh, I almost forgot. Prowl, you should send out an email stating that it's ok to miss your morning shift tomorrow if your attending Church. Can't wait for your service tomorrow.

Groan.

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-Story): The gang pulled to a stop a transit station that had buses to the real world. Lancer had her bags tired to give back her conductor hat but Allora wouldn't let her.**

 **Allora- "You keep it. For the memories."**

 **Lancer- "Thanks."**

 **She gave** **everyone hugs before getting onto her bus and driving off.**

 **Cliff- "Will we see her again."**

 **Allora- "I hope so."**

 **Thought- "Me too."**

 **Allora- "Ok, enough being sad. Reviews. Mywinx14, hugs and strength to you. BIackrose13, yes he is always up to something. Lol, Op being sneaking looks super cute in my head. adelphe24, I totally agree with you but sign someone had to do it. CMDOBlizin, lol Wheeljack really does need to stop while he is kind of ahead. I wonder why he hasn't lost an arm yet? praxian, see you when you get back.**

 **Well, that's it for this weekend. Hugs and Strength to everyone and see you all later."**


	38. Ch37 It Keeps Piling Up

**Author's Note (Mini-Story): Mr. Mailman- "Here you go, Allora."**

 **Allora- "Thank you. *Turns to Cliff and Thought* Guys, the mail is here."**

 **Both of them- "Coming."**

 **Cliff plopped down on Allora's lap after she sat down on Thought's.**

 **Cliff- "Anything from Lancer? How many this time around?"**

 **Allora- "It doesn't look like anything from Lancer but we've got seven letters today. And one of them is from a past chapter.**

 **Thought- "Start with the earlier chapter first."**

 **Allora- "Ok, Hi KnightForHigher245. Glad to have you onboard. I think Hannah is a pretty cool character too.**

 **Mywinx14, Ratchet will wrench anyone if he has a good reason. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker have been leaving hints about a prank that they are planning. Not totally sure when they will actually strike.**

 **CybertronianDefense and Stooge kuo, I know. I feel so bad for Prowler. That's way too much work for one being, which is probably why Ratchet wrenched Op. :P I only had to type the summaries but that was exhausting by itself. I don't know how Karen could read them all and not break out of character.**

 **dreamholicme, Hi welcome to the story. Glad to know that my research is paying off. I love figuring how the Transformers' world works.**

 **CMDOBlitzin, we'll see. Karen just might overrule me on that one.**

 **This last one is from Giddy."**

 **Cliff- "Giddy! Isn't she the one that helped you name me?"**

 **Allora- "Yep, hi Giddy. You're not a bad reader. We are just glad to welcome you back. Wheeljack sure is funny isn't he? Prime can carry a lot of stuff in his subspace. I wonder how. Guess that's a question for Ratchet. Ok, guess that's the last of the letters. You two ready to hit the tracks?"**

 **Both the Boys- "Yes."**

 **As everyone is getting up to go, Cliffhanger notices a piece of paper Allora dropped.**

 **Cliff- "Hey, Allora. You missed one."**

 **Allora- "I did? *Quickly reads it.* Guys! We gotta get moving now."**

 **Thought- "Why, what's going on?"**

 **Allora- "It's a surprise."**

* * *

Ch.37 It Keeps Piling Up.

Jazz came waltzing into my office with Steeljaw in tow. Poor Steeljaw still had that lingering fog following him due to the medication Ratchet had us both on.

Jazz- "Hello, my mechs. Prowler, Seaspray. How are you two doing?"

Seaspray- "Hi, Jazz, Steeljaw."

The trio paused, waiting for my traditional reply of, "Prowl." Steeljaw glanced up at me, but we didn't make optic contact. My doorwings were my optics for the goings on in my office at that moment.

Jazz- "Um? What's wrong with you, Prowllleeerrrr?"

Still no response from me. I didn't even let my wings twitch.

Using a stylus to write on one of my overstocked blank datapads, I worked on reports. I could use my computer to type up the reports, but Seaspray was using it. I would have to send a request form to Huffer for a computer with the same programs installed on it for Seaspray. I could also use the keyboard program on the datapad to type the reports, but I had never liked tablet keypads. They just never felt right.

Thankfully, the program for writing with a stylus was far superior to any on Earth. There was no delay when writing with the stylus. You could fill up the whole page displayed on the pad. Whenever I needed a new page, I just used a button on the side of the pad that saved the current page and then wiped it blank for writing on again.

It was just like writing in one of my college notebooks, but there was an added bonus. The datapad had the best autocorrect system ever. Even if I horrendously misspelled a word on the pad, if I thought of what word I was trying to spell, the pad would correct it to that word. It had something to do with the stylus connecting to nanosensors in my hand. Since my processor was sending signals to write, the stylus, while connected, could trace those signals back and find the word I was thinking nearly instantaneously.

With that information in hand, the stylus sent a signal to the pad letting it know what the word was that I actually wanted to write. Over time, the stylus would be able to correct mistakes before I even made them. That is why, according to the document that popped up in my vision screen after grabbing said stylus, it was taboo to borrow another bot's stylus. It was also why bots tended to have a favorite stylus and datapad.

It was thanks to these items that I was currently able to work on a report on Sideswipe's refusal to follow my orders on Thursday. They were also the reason why I wasn't responding to the other bots in the room. The stylus could take my conversation as what should be going onto the pad instead of what I was currently writing down.

Seaspray- "Optimus came in here earlier and took all of the reports Prowl was working on, including the ones he hadn't reviewed yet."

Jazz- "So, Prowler's pouting."

Prowl- "Prowl, and I'm not pouting.*Puffs*"

The word I was writing transformed on the datapad.

 _POUTING_

Sigh. I erased the word with the back side of the stylus and started again.

Jazz shared a glance with Seaspray and Steeljaw.

Jazz and Seaspray- "Pouting."

Steeljaw nodded his helm in agreement.

Thinking to myself, 'I'm not pouting.' The word I was writing again transformed.

 _POUTING_

Steeljaw stalked behind my desk and put his helm on my lap. His stare was not the puppy-eyed, "Please take a break and play with us." It was the cat's, "You know that you can't ignore us, so you might as well stop."

Okay. I put down my stylus and turned the datapad over so Jazz wouldn't be able to read what I had written. Steeljaw jumped onto my desk and lay down so that the pad was covered. Guess he didn't want me to get distracted and go back to it.

Prowl- "Steeljaw, would you please get off my desk. I need it.*Puffs*"

Steeljaw snorted and pulled out a cube from his subspace. Well, fine, be that way.

Seaspray laughed, "He knows you too well, Commander."

Jazz offered both Seaspray and me a cube. "He knows that as soon as he is off, you'll go back to being a workaholic."

Taking the cube, I put in my per-meal dose of medication. "I'm not a workaholic. I was merely finishing off reports that should have been done days ago."

Jazz feigned surprise, "Oh no. Prowler, behind on reports. How unlike him."

Seaspray- "You haven't had time to do your reports, sir?"

Prowl- "I may have had the time but I lacked the foresight to use that time for writing up reports. So much has happened these past five days. I now see that reports should be completed within 24 hours of the event, and be reviewed by superior officers within 48 hours. That way, the information on them doesn't become obsolete with time.*Puffs*"

I glanced at Jazz, sharply. I wasn't sure, since my wings weren't at full strength, but I believe that his optics looked off to the side to avoid contact.

Prowl- "Speaking of reports.*Puffs and stares at Jazz*"

Jazz's grin widened. "Who, me?"

Prowl- "Yes, you. You haven't turned in any reports about Special Ops' training progress, or of any locations your team has discovered that could be vital.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "You didn't ask."

Prowl- "And that was a mistake on my part. I apologize."

Jazz- "We're cool. Do you want reports for the whole week? That's going to take awhile."

Prowl- "Understandable. Preferably, the reports for this week should all be done by Sunday evening. Since I incorrectly assumed that everyone would have done their reports for this week, I'll ask that you have this week's reports done two weeks from now. Any reports after today should be turned in on time. I'll be sending out an email on this policy after I confer with Optimus. *Puffs*"

Seaspray chuckled. "You're going to hold him to his word that he will start helping out with reports?"

Prowl- "Yes, and he needs to write makeup reports for this week as well. He has been volunteering to help clear the Main Door in time for Monday, and I would like to see his perspective on the process.*Puffs*"

Steeljaw chuckled along with Jazz.

Jazz- "So, what's the report that you were working on before Steeljaw decided to take a nap on it?"

Prowl- "Sideswipe's insubordination, and the punishment he should receive."

Seaspray- "So, Sideswipe is finally in trouble. I thought that would happen sooner. What's he in for?"

Prowl- "Needless use of a commanding officer's comlink.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "He still hasn't been punished for that?"

Prowl- "I've been busy. And, unfortunately, I will not be the one to see that he carries through his punishment. There isn't enough time in my shift to get everything done.*Puffs*"

Seaspray- "Why don't you log in during your free time like everyone else?"

Steeljaw paused his drinking to shoot me a hard glare that screamed, you'd better give the correct answer.

Prowl- "I have other duties to attend to Earthside, and Ratchet has me on medical watch.*Puffs*"

That, and my free time was my free time. I didn't want to spend it working as Prowl.

Seaspray's grin turned uneasy. "Right, don't make the Doc Bot mad. Got it."

Prowl- "Angry.*Puffs*"

Seaspray- "Whaa?"

Prowl- "The word you're thinking of is 'angry.' 'Mad' means mentally ill or crazy. To make Ratchet mad is to make him crazy, which may be the case if the Terror Twins are involved, but I doubt that about you and me.*Puffs*"

And why am I correcting him, when I do the exact same thing? Hypocrite, that's me.

Seaspray finished off his cube and stood. "Okay, then. Am I excused, Prowl? I've got people waiting for me Earthside for lunch."

Prowl- "Yes, you are. Just exit out of the program before you go. Also, could you write a report on your experience regarding our training session? I want to know if there is anything that needs to be changed so that it works for the both of us.*Puffs*"

Seaspray- "Sure thing. I should have that done by Dinner Cube Time. Do you want that as a datapad or an email?"

Prowl- "Datapad. *Notices the expression on Seaspray's face but can't quite place it* Why?"

Seaspray- "Umm... Your email box just popped up on your computer stating that you have quite a few emails received. Big emails, by the looks of it, judging by the megabyte sizes on them."

Oh, dear. I extended my hand for the offered computer and saw that Seaspray was correct. Joy. I'll have to add, "The Proper Way To Turn In Reports," to that future email, but that will have to wait 'til after lunch, talking to Op, finishing off my reports, and finding someone to make sure Sideswipe doesn't bail on his punishment.

Great. I will have to spend my precious free time finishing off my duties as Second in Command. Go, Prowler.

Jazz, Steeljaw, and I finished off our cubes after Seaspray left. Jazz made himself comfortable and logged off for lunch. Steeljaw acted like he was offline, but my wings told me otherwise. Still, there was nothing I could do to get the metallic lion off my desk, so I just locked my door and logged out in my office chair.

Hannah- "Hey, Karen, you made it. We thought you got lost in there."

Karen- "Nope, training just took longer."

I sat down with my simple PB&J, chips, an apple, a cookie, and milk. Sometimes I just want the simple things.

Kyle, Brandon, Kaylie, and Hannah were already sitting at the table, but Kaylie stood up as I was sitting down.

Kaylie- "Sorry, guys. Hate to eat and run, but Doctor Raphael wants me to look at a report Sciences sent to the medbay Gameside. I guess we have some crystals on the base that can be used for medical purposes."

Kyle- "That's cool. You tell Doc we said hi."

Hannah- "You should go talk to Prowl about that. I think he might have a datapad on that subject. "

Kaylie- "I'll ask him. Thanks."

Everyone at the table- "Bye."

I had just taken a huge bite of my sandwhich when a hand landed heavily on my left shoulder.

"Boo."

I swallowed and let a grin grace my face. "Hi, David."

Nice try. I'm the ninja master in my house for a reason, bub. For my whole life, I've found it easy to sneak up on people. Most times, it was by accident. My brothers were always trying to get me back. But, like with David, it never worked.

The only, and I mean only, time someone could ever sneak-scare me was when I was really out of it, A.K.A., dead on my feet.

Now, granted, I didn't know that David had been sneaking up on me. My eagerness for lunch had blinded me to his ninja attack. The attack didn't scare me because I recognized his voice right away.

It's hard to be scared when you know who it is and that they are being playful.

David sat down next to me with his pizza.

David- "Drat. I thought I had you."

I shrugged. "You snooze, you loose."

Brandon- "What took you so long, David?"

David- "I had to finish something before logging out. Took longer than I thought it would."

Kyle- "I think that's going to happen more often as we get more into our character's roles."

Hannah- "I know, right? I've been having to sneak on to play during my free time in order to get to the fun part of the game. Training is taking too long."

Karen- "Same. I've been aiming to use my free time for only Earthside stuff, but I have to go back in today during free time. There's just not enough time in the schedule Prowl sent out."

Brandon- "If you're worried about Doc Raf, I don't think he cares how long you're in the game as long as you keep up with your daily exercise requirement."

Karen- "I'd rather not test my luck. Did anyone see Op's helm before lunch?"

Hannah- "Sure did. It had a big old dent in it."

Karen- "You know why?"

Hannah- "I didn't ask."

Brandon- "I saw something hilarious today."

Kyle- "Twins finally pull a prank?"

Brandon- "Nope. Beachcomber."

Karen- "Beachcomber?"

Brandon- "Yep. Mirage tried to get out of helping clear the door today by turning invisible. Right as Mirage was turning invisible, Beachcomber pretended to sneeze a cloud of rock dust at him. Mirage turned visible again with the most affronted look on his face. Priceless. Then Beachcomber said, 'Sorry, bud, I didn't see you there.'"

Hannah- "If you think that's funny, wait 'til you hear this. I was visiting the gun range for some extra practice. Ironhide was working with Cliffjumper. Ironhide has this selection of small guns for Cliff to try out. He goes, 'Now, Cliffjumper, I think it's best that we start you out with something more your size.' Cliffjumper is having none of that and pulls this huge gun out of his subspace and fires the thing."

Karen- "No."

Hannah- "Yes. Not only does it blast Cliff backward, it gets Ironhide, too. Both bots make a huge dent in the wall, and Cliff ends up sitting in Ironhide's lap. Cliff just looked up and asked Santa."

Everyone- "Bwahahaha."

David wiped a tear away from his eye. "And then, what? Did he hit the target?"

Hannah- "Like, it was gone, with three others. Ironhide was so mad. He grabbed the gun, saying, 'Mine now.' And Cliff was, like, *mimics cute puppy-dog eyes* 'Okay.'"

Brandon- "I wish I was there for that. You get any good pics?"

Hannah- "Yes, but I can't show them to you. They're stuck in my helm."

Brandon- "Aww."

Karen- "Too bad. I would have loved to see them."

David- "Isn't there a way to download those onto a datapad or something?"

Hannah- "Probably, but I wouldn't know. I think that's a question for Ratchet."

Kyle- "Speaking of, I wonder how Prowl took the news today during his check up."

Karen- "Surprised, no doubt."

Brandon- "I'd say. Did Doc Raf threaten everyone with three days grounded from the Game if you talked about the anti-virus program at all, even Earthside?"

Everyone said yes, but I was a second behind.

So, that's why I didn't hear a whisper about it Earthside. Very tricky, Doc.

Hannah got up from the table. "I'm going to the greenhouse. Karen, will you be able to make it today?"

Karen- "I don't know. Like I said earlier, I've got stuff to catch up on today Gameside."

Hannah- "Text me when you know. See you guys."

Everyone said goodbye and broke off separate ways. I snuck off to the power room before logging back into the Game.

Steeljaw was still lying on top of my datapad.

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-Story): Deep Thought pulls up to a stop in front of a village's station. Allora jumps out with Cliff in tow. Allora is scanning the crowd while Cliff looks on in confusion.**

 **Cliff- "Allora, what's going on?"**

 **Allora- "There's someone I what you to meet."**

 **Cliff- "Whowaaa!"**

 **A girl runs into Cliffhanger, picking him up into a spinning hug.**

 **Giddy- "Ohmygosh, you have to be Cliffhanger! I must be, like, your godmother or something!**

 **Cliff- "Giddy?"**

 **Giddy- "Yes indeedy-do! I'm so glad to finally meet y'all in person!**

 **Allora- "Glad to see your train wasn't late, Giddy. Did you get to read the new chapter on the way here?"**

 **Giddy- "Yes, and it's a hoot!**

 **Allora- "Glad to hear it. *Turns to Thought and Cliff* Guys, Giddy has offered to be our new Beta reader, a.k.a our new conductor. What do you guys think?"**

 **Cliff- "Yes."**

 **Thought- "Same here. I'm sure Giddy will do a great job."**

 **Allora turned to Giddy and offered a Conductor's hat she had been hiding behind her back.**

 **Allora- "It's been settled."**

 **Giddy took the hat and put it on with a smile.**

 **Giddy- "All aboard, baby."**


	39. Ch38 Well You See

**Author's Note (Mini-story): Giddy was hanging out with the mechs while taking peeks at her pocket watch. Cliffhanger was sitting on Deep Thought's ped.**

 **Giddy-*singing quietly* "We're late, we're late, for a very important update…."**

 **Deep Thought-"Is that even a song?"**

 **Just then, Allora came running up with arms full of old books.**

 **Allora- "Sorry, guys. Life and research ate a lot of my time."**

 **Giddy-"That's alright, t'row them books in the back, and let's roll out! Woot!"**

* * *

Ch.38 Well, You See...

Prowl- "Steeljaw, please remove yourself from my desk. *Puffs*"

Steeljaw simply snorted and shook his helm "no." Cute.

Prowl- "Steeljaw, remove yourself. Now. *Puffs*"

No change.

Come on, Steel. Please don't make me pull a "Comic Prowl."

Granted, I'd never read the "More Than Meets The Eye" comics in the Transformers fandom due to their not being available at my local library. I know, I'm a cheapskate, but college is expensive. Anyway, just because I'd never bought them didn't mean that I didn't know about them. Pinterest is great at informing people on fandom stuff.

On my Pinterest board there were quite a few gifs of Prowl flipping his desk. Not sure why he is so OOC in those comics, but it's a thing that when he is mad he will flip his desk. Chromedome even locks down Prowl's desk in a fancomic and writes on it, "No More Table Murders."

I thought it was hilarious, but it definitely wasn't something I personally wanted to do. It would be too good of an excuse for the Terror Twins to torment me. Not that they needed one.

So, narrowing my optics, I sat down. Instead of table-flipping, I settled in for the staring contest of the century. Who would win—the steel-toed cat with piercing optics? Or, would it be the armor-clad femme on a mission?

Steeljaw accepted my challenge and narrowed his own optics to slits. He wasn't going to back down. It almost felt like he was sore at me for some odd reason.

Why in the world would he be angry with me?

"Bwahaha, just how long have you two been at it?"

It was Jazz, having just onlined to see Steel and me in a staring contest. Great.

Not taking my optics off of Steel, "Not long.*Puffs*"

Jazz sauntered over and attempted to pat Steeljaw's helm. He dodged it, of course, and gave a hiss for his trouble.

Jazz- "So, why are you two staring, Prowler?"

Prowl- "It's Prowl, and shouldn't that be obvious?*Puffs*"

Jazz chuckled, but, mid chuckle, he paused and tilted his helm to the side as if listening in on a conversation. His visor brightened after a moment and he chuckled even harder.

Jazz- "Did you even ask why Steeljaw has commandeered your desk?"

My throat dropped to the bottom of my stomach. No, I hadn't asked Steeljaw why he was sitting on my desk. I had just assumed that he was just being annoying like one of my younger brothers. So, I retaliated by having a staring contest. Real mature, Karen.

Well, at least I could say that I hadn't flipped the table. If it had been one of my younger brothers sitting on my desk, I would have totally flipped the table, not caring about my image. I do something similar whenever they try to sit in my favorite armchair: grab their legs and pull them off so I can sit.

Jazz took my silence as a no, and just shook his helm. He still had a big old grin on his face, so it was safe to assume that he thought the whole thing ridiculous.

I turned back to Steeljaw, and when his optics locked back onto to mine, I spoke.

"I apologize, Steeljaw. Why are you sitting on my desk? I do need it.*Puffs*"

And please don't say it's because I need to stay logged off for the rest of the day. I've got too much stuff to get done.

Steel gave me a slow blink and un-subspaced what looked like a see-through flower pot and saucer. Along with those he pulled out another flavored cube of energon.

I could feel my wings break out of my control and rise up as the realization dawned on me.

His crystal diamond! I hadn't planted it yet. With everything that had been going on this week, I'd completely forgotten about it.

Slowly, I reached for the objects. Steeljaw didn't protest. In fact, he got up and jumped off of my desk after I had grabbed them.

Prowl- "I apologize again, Steeljaw. The crystal slipped my mind with everything that has needed to be done.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "Crystal?"

Prowl- "Yes, Steeljaw's crystal. He gave it to me for helping him on Tuesday. I have meant to plant it, but my schedule has been busy.*Puffs*"

Steeljaw's snort reminded me of someone saying, "I'll say."

Jazz- "Plant it? As in crystal growing? Pour some energon onto a crystal and watch the magic happen?"

Prowl- "Yes. An over-simplified definition, but yes.*Puffs*"

Wasting no time, I set down the planter and energon cube on my now mostly clear desk. With my hands free, I was able to retrieve the diamond crystal and the bag of graphite gravel from my desk drawer.

Carefully, I poured some of the graphite gravel into the planter and then inserted the crystal so that half of the octahedron (think two pyramids with their bottoms kissing) was buried.

Now, before I added the energon, I should taste-test it to see what, exactly, I was going to give my crystal.

Flaring my sensor net out, I tried to discern what was in the cube.

Jazz and Steeljaw are present in the room with you. Nothing is out of place. There are new datapads within the mailbox.

Okay...where was the info about the energon cube?

Ever so carefully, I shifted my wings so they were angled towards the cube. Hopefully, that would focus the sensor net on it so I could scan it. Jazz and Steeljaw didn't seem to notice that my wings had moved.

The energon cube has no material added to it. It is safe to consume.

Well, that was helpful. I guessed I would have to taste-test it if I wanted to know what was in it.

The smell should have stopped me, but I still took a sip. My wings jolted as my optics notched the light saturation level up a peg. The drink tingled on my tongue, but there was a burn that seared my insides as it drizzled into my tank. The flavor was a mix of tangy sweetness, smoky goodness, super saltiness, and something else. The flavor—the smell—I knew what this was.

An energy bar appeared on my vision screen at that point. My current energy level had spiked to a full charge from that one sip. Granted, my tanks were already full from my earlier cube, but normal energon metabolized in a way that the energy stored in it would be released in a healthy, efficient way. Slowly.

This stuff was nearly instant. This stuff was…no, that couldn't be right. There was no way that could happen with this liquid. Unless...

Prowl- "Highgrade?*Puff*"

Jazz- "Highgrade? Seriously? *Turns to Steeljaw* Where'd you get your paws on that stuff?"

Steeljaw just shook his helm. He wasn't going to tell us anything. He'd most likely gotten it from the mech who swiped the datapad... Sideswipe.

What was that boy up to now? I couldn't just go up to him and say, "Give me it." I had no evidence. I'd just have to swing by security... but, wait. None of the reports from Red Alert mentioned Sideswipe stealing the pad. Great.

Jazz- "What does it taste like?"

Prowl- "Interesting.*Puff*"

That was putting it mildly.

Jazz snatched the cube out of my hands. Before I could warn him, he took a big old swig.

Jazz- "Gaw, bla, oww! I though' you said thi' was Highgrade! This stuff burns."

While he was still sputtering from the aftertaste, I snatched the cube back from him before he could spill it.

Prowl- "What did you expect?*Puffs*"

Jazz- "I don't know. At the very least, a low grade beer. Not this yuk of a shot."

Prowl- "I'm sorry, but this is not for actual drinking. The closest liquid to this on Earth is Worcester sauce.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "Wha, you mean that stuff people put in their Sloppy Joe? If you knew that was what it was, why did you drink it? Or let me? Ow, my tongue."

Prowl- "I didn't know what it was before I tasted it. You didn't give me enough time to warn you before you tested it yourself.*Puffs*"

Jazz's pained look morphed into an expression of pure regret. "Next time, I'll wait for you to tell me if it's safe to drink. Why'd you even taste it? I thought Steel brought it for the crystal."

Prowl- "He did, but I wanted to know what was in the drink itself.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "Why would that even matter?"

Steeljaw had been following our conversation ping-pong style: meaning, his helm bounced back and forth toward whoever was currently speaking, like following the ball during a ping-pong tournament.

With Jazz's question, he settled into a more comfortable position on the floor—a full-out flop onto his belly—and focused his attention on me. He knew that this could take awhile. He could sense my inner nerd coming out.

Prowl- "Jazz, you remember how I said your explanation was oversimplified? *Sees his helm nod* Well, crystal-growing on any planet is complicated, whether it's natural or enhanced by sentient life. Based on physics and the Laws of Nature, it's safe to assume that the process doesn't change, no matter where you are in the universe.

Crystals form when atoms of the same element or of similar elements are allowed to form an orderly pattern. Every solid has an orderly formation of atoms, meaning that the atoms are packed close together and are not moving.

But, unlike crystals, solids that are not crystalline don't have a pattern. If you were to look at two different sections of the same object, you would find the same kinds of atoms arranged in different ways. Crystals have a pattern throughout their make. If you were to look at two different sections, you would find the same exact pattern.

With the right conditions met, atoms of the same or a similar element will form these patterns, adding layers based on atoms that are available against the current outside layer.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "So, you're saying that crystals are like trees? They add a new layer on the outside, so the inside layers are the older ones, like growth rings. They aren't like our skin, where the oldest layers are the outside ones."

Prowl- "Yes, that is correct. Since the seed crystal Steeljaw gave me is a diamond, it is necessary to use a potting mix that is mostly carbon to facilitate growth. The potting mix is made of graphite for this reason.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "Umm...correct me if I'm wrong. Doesn't graphite have a pattern, which would make it a crystal, too? And aren't diamonds only formed under intense heat and pressure? I remember that from high school science, at least. Also, why are you calling your crystal a seed?"

Prowl- "I'll answer your questions in order. Graphite does have an orderly pattern, but since the layers are formed out of carbons that form three covalent bonds—you do remember covalent bonds?*Puffs*"

Jazz- "Isn't that when atoms share electrons instead of one stealing the other's?"

Prowl- "Correct. With all atoms, they want a full octet. Meaning, they want four pairs, or eight electrons, in their outermost shell. Carbon, with an atomic number of six, has four lone electrons in its outermost shell. The last two electrons make up the inner shell.

Having four lone electrons means that carbon is always looking for electrons and can form covalent bonds with at least four other atoms.

Graphite, with its three-covalent-bonded carbon structure, is weaker than diamond's four-covalent-bonded structure. But, yes, graphite can be considered a crystal. Why it is weaker is due to the shape the atoms form after bonding. Graphite forms a 2d hexagon in sheets, whereas diamond forms layers of tetrahedrons, which are the same shape as the diamond that I have."

Jazz- "Does that mean that the pattern also affects the final shape of the crystal?"

Prowl- "Yes, the shape comes from the constant repeat of the pattern being built up over time. Now, for your heat and pressure question: in nature, diamonds do need them in order to form. Even synthetic diamonds grown in labs need them as well, on Earth.

Why this crystal doesn't need them is because of the energon. I don't understand fully why it is possible, but I can explain the basics.

Energon has the ability to break down orderly atomic structures without adding energy because it is a form of energy, like heat. But, it doesn't always do this, possibly due to the fact that it is the blood of Primus and thus has almost mystical properties that allow it to be used for multiple applications. Or...it could be cold plasma; I'm not sure.*Puffs*"

Jazz held out his hand to stop me. "Wait, cold plasma? Plasma is what stars are made of—how can it be cold?"

Prowl- "I'm just speculating. I don't know if energon is actually cold plasma. I do know that it has the ability to break down solids into basic atoms so they can help form new crystals. Since energon is essentially pure energy, I can assume it's not a liquid but a cold plasma.

If it is indeed a cold plasma, then that would explain the star harvester of the *shiver mentally* Bayverse movies. The harvester would take the plasma from the star, super-cool and condense it to create energon. The heat taken away from the now-cold plasma would have been the energy source for the device.*Puffs*"

Jazz's look of concentration morphed into one of amusement. "So, not only are we vampires, but we are also star-eaters?"

Vampires—where did he get that? Oh; blood of Primus. Hardeehar.

Prowl- "I wouldn't put it in those terms but, I believe, yes. If we had energon on Earth, it would be the key that unlocks cold fusion, but this substance can only be found in virtual reality, unfortunately.

Now, where was I in answering your crystal-growing questions?*Puffs*"

Jazz tapped his index finger on his chin. "Well, Professor Prowler, you just explained how your diamond doesn't need heat. Now, you're going to explain the pressure thing and why you keep calling it a seed crystal."

Prowl- "Thank you, and my name is not Professor Prowler. For the need of pressure, energon takes care of that, as well. The energon, when poured onto the crystal, creates a coating layer that protects it from impurities around it. Energon is able to do this because its viscosity changes with how it is used. This liquid barrier could be able to apply a high amount of pressure to the crystal based on the idea that energon is cold plasma, condensed. In effect, condensing the plasma creates pressure.

But, it is more likely due to the mystical properties that come from it being Primus' blood than anything else. The energon around the crystal promotes crystallization based on available material around the crystal seed.

Now, why do I call my crystal a seed? When synthetically growing crystals on Earth, scientists start with a nearly perfect small natural crystal. They put this crystal into a supersaturated solution of the same elements. With the crystal thus seeded in the solution, new layers form around it to create a larger crystal that is, hopefully, perfect.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "When you say, 'supersaturated solution,' you mean water filled with salts to the point that it can't dissolve them anymore, right?"

Prowl- "Partially. When the solution is supersaturated, the liquid is generally heated in order to absorb more than the maximum amount it can usually contain. Generally, the term is used only for salts, but I'm using it loosely, at this point, to help explain how crystallization works, even if all crystals are not salts.

With supersaturated solutions, crystals form within them until the solution returns to saturated instead of supersaturated.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "If that's the case, why do you need a seed crystal?"

Prowl- "Without it, the solution would produce multiple crystals, and they would be competing for resources along the walls of the container. Also, they would grow into each other, causing clusters instead of single crystals. It also becomes difficult to control the quality of the crystals in such situations.

When a seed crystal is added to the solution, the atoms will be attracted to that crystal, making it less likely other crystals will form to compete with it. When only dealing with one crystal, the rate of growth can be controlled.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "Why would you want to control the growth rate?"

Prowl- "The slow build-up of layers prevents clouding of the crystal. Crystals become cloudy due to air or solution becoming trapped within the structure. Lower temperatures encourage slower growth, which produces clearer crystals. Pearls are the same in the way that a colder temperature produces a better luster, which is why pearls are generally harvested in the winter.

Now, did I ever tell you why I tasted the energon?*Puffs*"

Jazz- "No, but I can make a guess. You said crystals grow based on the environment and what is available within that environment. You didn't want the energon to have any impurities that would affect the crystal."

Prowl- "Yes. The energon is to help the crystal grow evenly, even though part of the crystal isn't buried, by creating a thin barrier around the crystal. It will prevent shrinkage due to temperature changes. And, before you ask, shrinkage is when part of a crystal dissolves and becomes round.

Also, anything present within the energon would become available for the crystal to use in its growth. With diamonds, elements and their environment play a key role. They will affect the color of new layers.

If there was boron within the energon, for example, the new layers would be blue. This would create the effect of a crystal trapped within a crystal, since the seed crystal wouldn't change its color. Only the new layers would be affected. Over time, it might become impossible to see the seed crystal trapped within, but the final result would be a blue gem.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "So, basically, you wanted to get an idea of what the final product would be."

Prowl- "Yes.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "Well, what was in that stuff? I couldn't pinpoint any elements. Your sense of taste might be better than mine."

Prowl- "There were no elements present.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "So, the crystal would stay clear, then?"

Prowl- "No, it will be green."

Jazz- "Green?"

I took a glance at Steeljaw to confirm my guess. He gave me a slight nod.

Prowl- "Yes. As I said before, elements and the environment play a key role in a diamond's final color. Elements like boron, nitrogen, and iron can affect the color, but color can also be affected by changes in heat during formation and radiation from surrounding rock.

Changes in heat can distort the crystalline structure, causing the light rays to bend so certain colors are perceived, like red and purple. Radiation from surrounding rock causes extra electrons to become bound to the diamond, creating a green color. That is why you don't want to polish a green diamond too much. You don't want to lose the electrons.

The drink you and I sampled just now is high in radiation, which will encourage the new layers of crystal to be green.*Puffs*"

With that, I poured the liquid over my diamond. You could tell immediately that there was energon because the crystal appeared to give off an inner light.

Jazz- "How long 'til we start seeing some green?"

Prowl- "Not for a long time. Crystal growth only appears rapid when they are a few micrometers across, due to their growing only a minuscule fraction of their size per day. The energon increases the amount of growth per day, but it will still be a month before we see any color change.*Puffs*"

We all stared at the glowing gem silently for a moment before Jazz spoke again.

Jazz- "It's kind of funny how you were comparing crystal-growing to plants, and the color Steeljaw picked out was green."

It was ironic. Did Steeljaw know who I was Earthside? Did that mean Blaster knew as well?

I eyed Steel questioningly, but he didn't give any hints.

Oh, well; I guessed it was time to actually get to work, now that I was done geeking out. I just hoped Jazz wouldn't connect my crystal hobby to my greenhouse Earthside.

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-story): The gang was sitting at a campfire for the night. Giddy and Allora were roasting marshmallows while the mechs were having warmed energon.**

 **Giddy took her roasted marshmallow, made it into an s'more, and ate it quick. Allora was still cooking hers.**

 **Giddy- "Once I lick my fingers clean, I'd like to bust out the mail bag."**

 **Allora- "Sure, now is a good time."**

 **Giddy pulls out the mail sack for the last chapter, grabs a few at random, and hands half to Allora.**

 **Giddy- "dreamaholic, indeed, though I would still want to play one of the GI characters. You know any software developers?**

 **Allora- "CrackleShot-the-Sparkeater, Yes he totally is in this chapter."**

 **Giddy- "Don't judge me I'm a Fangirl, I'm on this ride 'cause I love this ride! You know, you should never read this during quiet hours, or while consuming a beverage.**

 **Allora- "CybertronDefense, I have no idea. *Turns to Giddy* Didn't you leave a review too?"**

 **Giddy-Yup, I just wanted people to know that I can't really see that far down the tracks. Also, fanart, drawing people! Do it!**

 **Allora- "I would love it if there was some fanart. A friend of mine actually made a piece that will eventually replace the cover image I have currently. *Turns back to the readers* Thanks for waiting for this chapter, guys. I'm thinking that the update will be moved to Sundays to hopefully prevent late updates in the future. Hugs and Strength 'til next time. *Sees burnt marshmallow* Oops."**


	40. Ch39 Getting Stuff Done

**Author's Note (Mini-Story): "Delivery for the crew of Is This Reality."**

 **Allora- "Hiding over here, Mister."**

 **The mailman appeared from behind the trees that surrounded the campsite.**

 **Mailman- "You guys are sure good at hiding. Here's the mail from the last chapter, along with a special package."**

 **Allora took the offered sack. "Thanks, see you later."**

 **Mailman- "A pleasure, as always."**

 **Giddy dug around in the sack and pulled out a package from Don't judge me I'm a Fangirl.**

 **Giddy- "Oho! Some generous soul has thought to show her appreciation for the story with a most acceptable offering—chocolaty carbohydrates!**

 **Cliff- "I wish we could have some."**

 **Giddy- "Aw, I wish you could, too. *Fingers crossed behind her back because there are more for her* Yes, Table-Flippin' Prowl is quite meme-worthy. I have to say that I think the comic writers have a sense of humor very like my own. They make me LOL when I least expect it. Brownies, Allora?**

 **Allora took one of the offered brownies.**

 **Allora- "Thanks a bunch. I didn't realize that either until I starting research on crystal growing. I always just thought string in a jar full of sugar water equals rock candy. Good suggestion ."**

 **Deep Thought and Cliffhanger- "Being a family makes us comedic already.**

 **Allora- "Ok, this one is for Mywinx14, sorry that the prank war hasn't really started yet but it's only the first week of the game. It's coming along with Smokescreen's spotlight moments. I plan a lot of those for our beloved side characters in the future."**

 **Giddy- " CybertronDefense, yeah, she's some kind of genius! And Steel was just being a cat, amiright?**

 **Allora- "Purest of Hearts, Thank you for all of the reviews this week. It's been fun seeing you catch up. :) Glad, you joined this train ride.**

 **Giddy- "CMDOBlitzin, I'm considering mailing her my TPBs of MTMTE. All TF fans should read this comic, if only for Rung and that time everyone jumped on Ultra Magnus.**

 **Allora- "Secret, hi, good to see you again. If not Insideout, then Blitzwing? Don't let those emotions switch too fast, hon, you'll get whiplash."**

 **Giddy- "Seeker3, I love it too! Don't get your molecules in a tizzy; unless you are doing chemistry, you probably don't need to worry about which orbital your electrons are in.**

 **Allora- "Dreamer, glad to know that I can be a tutor when I need to be. Alright, you convinced me, I'm going to hold a fanart contest for all you lovely readers. I'll give you all the details after this chapter."**

* * *

Ch.39 Getting Stuff Done

Scooping up my now-freed datapad, I quickly jotted down the last blurb of info needed to complete the report. Copying it onto two other documents, I was able to add it to the 'Finally! I'm Done' stack. I subspaced the whole thing and stood up from my chair.

Prowl- "It has been an informative discussion, but now I must ask you both to leave.*Puffs*"

What I was actually saying was: 'Thank you both so much for allowing me to geek out, gush everything I know about crystals, and throw my head-cannon your way. Now, I really need to get some of my work done and I can't lock my office with you two in it, so please vamoose.'

Jazz faked a frown. "Aw, you trying to ditch us, now?"

Prowl- "No, I just have reports to deliver and meetings to attend but, first, I need to lock my office. Preferably without anyone in it.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "Ok, ok, I got it."

Once I'd shepherded both Jazz and Steeljaw out of my office, I locked my door—after giving Jazz a glare. He took the hint and turned his back towards me so I could do it. Steeljaw had beaten Jazz to the punch of turning away from my door.

Figuring I should talk to OP first, I started off. I had only taken ten steps when I noticed that I had two tails.

I turned to find that both were grinning at me. It was absolutely adorable. Jazz had his helm tilted to the side while giving a big grin. Steeljaw mimicked him, and oh, my gosh, he was a little angel. So cute, sitting down with his grin; he looked like a puppy, which was amazing in and of itself since he was always so stoic, like a cat.

Battling my urge to go, 'Aww, how cute,'—"What are you two doing?*Puffs*"

Jazz- "Hanging with you, Prowler."

Prowl- "Prowl. Don't you have other important things to do? Your reports, for instance, Jazz.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "I'll do them later, and, if you look are your schedule, Prowler, you will see that both Steeljaw and I are off the clock."

And…he was right. Jazz was off for the rest of the day. Steeljaw and the rest of the cassetticons hadn't been added to the schedule yet, but Ramhorn and Steel tended to do their jobs when Blaster was on duty. Since Blaster was currently off duty as well, that freed Steeljaw to do whatever pleased him.

Following his logic, I could be goofing off in the game as well, but Ratchet wouldn't be too happy with me. He had his heart dead set on limiting my game time as much as possible, due to my character being a trouble maker, in his book. If I didn't have a good reason for being logged on during my free time, he would most likely try to boot me from the game or ground me for the same amount of time as my extended gameplay. Was he...yes, he was logged in right now. Great, better stay out of Ratchet's way, for now.

Prowl- "Alright.*Puffs*"

We found Optimus in his office reading the reports and my badly written summaries. He looked up as we entered.

Optimus- "Hello, Prowl, Jazz, and Steeljaw. How can I help you? If you want the reports back, Prowl, I'm not done with them yet."

Prowl- "That isn't why I'm here. *Un-subspaces finished reports* These are my reports on the week; I apologize that some of them are late. There are also three copies of Sideswipe's punishment for defying orders on the top of the stack. If you would sign them stating that you find the punishment fair for the offense, then I can implement it. Also, I would like to discuss with you updating our policy on how reports should be turned in.*Puffs*"

Optimus took my offered stack and motioned for the three of us to sit. Op's desk was large enough to accommodate three guest chairs. His office, along with a guest couch, also had a mini-conference table.

Jazz and I took the outermost edges and Steeljaw claimed the middle chair.

Optimus- "Why are you here, Jazz?"

Jazz- "'Cause I like hanging out with Prowler."

Prowl- "Prowl."

Optimus' optics brightened, and I got the distinct impression that he was laughing at our antics. He turned to Steeljaw.

Optimus- "Are you hanging out, as well?"

Steel nodded and then promptly curled up into a little ball on his chair.

Optimus onlined the top datapad on the stack, skimmed it, and signed it, along with the two others underneath. He handed them back to me before settling in for our unofficial meeting.

Optimus- "So, you think we need to change the way our reports are handled?"

Prowl- "Yes. Reports should be turned into the appropriate commanding officers within twenty-four hours of the incidents outlined in said reports. Preferably, the reports should be completed before the end of the day, but events could prevent that from happening. The commanding officers should then review within the next 24 hours. If the report should be seen by other commanding officers, the first officer should leave a summary and their assessment of the report.*Puffs*"

Optimus- "That would be wise. If the reports were any later, the information in them would become irrelevant with time. Now, with reports like Sideswipe's punishment that require some decision by the commanding officers, they would need signatures from all the officers involved in the decision, correct?"

Prowl- "Correct. Until we hold another meeting with the rest of the commanding staff to make the final decision, I believe it would be best to have at least three signatures before an action can be completed. For punishments, they should require both your and my signatures, along with that of the officer assigned to see that they are carried through.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "Who are you going to pick for this? It's not like we have a warden yet unless that's Red Alert's and Inferno's job too."

Prowl- "That is something I plan to discuss with them after this meeting. Now, Optimus, I would like to send out a memo stating what I just said, along with that everybot should turn in their reports as datapads, and the reports for this week can be made up until two weeks from today. *Puffs*"

Optimus- "I agree. Reading reports off the computer email is tiring to the optics, compared to the datapads. The email should be used for short messages, not reports. I'm assuming you want me to write up reports on my first week as well?"

Prowl- "Yes. When will be the next officers' meeting? We also need to discuss which officers the troops will report to, what punishments equal what offenses, and how the chain of command will work in battle.*Puff*"

Optimus- "I haven't decided yet. You haven't sent out the new schedule yet, correct? *Sees my nod* Alright, I would like to have the meeting Monday morning, before the outside door is opened. Is six o'clock too early?"

Fun. I love getting up early in the morning (sarcasm). But it was doable if it was only one day of the week.

Prowl- "It should be fine."

Jazz- "I'm down with that."

Optimus- "Then the meeting will be Monday at six a.m. Prowl, when you make the schedule, add the meeting to every officer's agenda. We may have it become a weekly occurrence at that time if everyone agrees to it."

Prowl- "Understood. Now, I believe that is everything I wanted to cover with you today. I'll leave you to your reports. Have a good rest of the day, Prime."

As I got up, Jazz and Steeljaw mimicked me.

Jazz- "See you, Boss Bot."

Steeljaw nodded his helm to that.

Optimus- "You all, as well."

We headed towards the Security Room. I knew that was the only place Red Alert would be during his shift. I shot him a quick text message letting him know we were on our way and why—didn't want him to freak out or anything.

Inferno was waiting for us outside the door.

Inferno- "Hi, guys; Red is hiding in there at the moment. Huffer asked him to check the security cameras in the storage rooms."

Prowl- "To see who has taken the missing supplies?*Puffs*"

Inferno- "Yep. He said that you wanted to talk about a punishment detail?"

Jazz- "Yep. Good Sides has gotten himself in trouble with Prowler."

Prowl- "It's Prowl. *Turns back to Inferno* As my time is limited, I would like an officer to be given the title of Warden who would be the one to carry out any punishments. Are either you or Red Alert available for this duty?*Puffs*"

Inferno- "To tell you the truth, sir, we wouldn't be able to do that. Red is constantly at the monitors. With the broken cameras from the crash, he has me busy running around fixing them. It's going to take us at least a month to find them all. We haven't even touched the other security measures. If we weren't so busy, we'd totally be up to helping out with warden detail."

I'd figured as much. From what I understood, Red Alert and Inferno were not only security for the Ark, but they were also the wardens. However, it had always seemed difficult, having, essentially, two jobs rolled up into one. Yes, they correlated, but how could you watch the Ark if you were constantly watching prisoners or soldiers in trouble?

Prowl- "Would Red be averse to my assigning another bot to be Warden for the Ark? I know that role normally falls under his...*Puffs*"

Inferno- "Not at all. He would even welcome it since it would give him more time watch out for Decepticons. You already have someone in mind?"

Prowl- "I have been contemplating it. Warpath is my recommendation.*Puffs*"

Inferno put his hand to his chin in thought. "I don't know him very well, but he gets along with everyone and treats everyone with respect. Yeah, I think he would be a good choice. Let me check with Red Alert, quick."

He ducked back into the Security Room.

Jazz- "So, you got any plans after this?"

Prowl- "Log off.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "Well, since you're free, do you want to spar?"

Prowl- "Spar?*Puffs*"

Jazz- "Yeah, spar. I figure we could use the practice."

Well, I am really rusty on my Taekwondo. Plus, this might get me ready for when I finally get to Yoketron's teachings on Self Defense and Combat. I'm still working on the whole breathing thing.

Prowl- "Yes.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "Really?"

Prowl- "Yes.*Puffs*"

Did he really think that I wouldn't want to practice with him? I've been begging to train with Ironhide all week. Sure, that glitch of a program shook me up a little bit, but I still want to practice.

Jazz- "Cool. Steeljaw, you want to join us?"

Steel nodded yes, and Inferno walked back just then.

Inferno- "Red says that Warpath would be a great Warden. I can take the report and news to him if you want, sir."

Prowl- "Thank you, Inferno. Also, be sure to let Warpath know, if he accepts, that he needs to sign all three copies and give one to both Optimus and me."

Inferno- "Will do."

With Inferno heading off to find Warpath, we headed over to the training rooms. Jazz punched in a code for the third room and entered.

Steel and I entered to find that the room had a simulation already installed.

The room had red pillars that climbed the walls to form hexagonal shapes all the way to the top of the towering ceiling above. High up on the walls were what looked like paper windows that were circular in shape, with wavy lines that crisscrossed randomly. The walls were painted a dark teal, with hexagonal paper doors and dark rectangular outlines at waist height. A tan training mat covered most of the floor of the room.

I knew this place. I had seen it in Transformers Animated. It was Master Yoketron's Dojo.

Jazz was standing in front of us with his hands on his hips, a triumphant smile gracing his face.

Jazz- "What do you think? It took me awhile to design and download."

Prowl- "It's exactly the same as Yoketron's Dojo in Five Servos of Doom.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "So, you have seen that series."

Oops. And another hint to who I am, goes to Jazz.

Prowl- "Where would you like to begin?*Puffs*"

Jazz- "I was thinking we'd go through a basic form first. I found a datapad on Cybertronian Martial Arts. I'll show you the form, and you can follow along. Cool?"

Prowl- "Yes, but what about Steeljaw?"

Jazz- "He knows the forms we are going to be doing. The datapad also had a modified version for his frame type."

Oh, ok, then. I wondered which datapad Jazz was talking about. I would have to get farther along on Yoketron's pad to see if it covered forms for quadrupeds, as well.

Prowl- "Let's begin, then."

Jazz put his peds together, arms at his sides, and bowed from the waist. I followed suit, whereas Steeljaw stretched out his front paws and lowered his helm.

Jazz straightened and went into what I knew as the Ready Stance. He stood on his tiptoe for a sec before spreading out so his peds were shoulder-width apart. They were still pointing forward. The tips of his hands kissed as he raised them up to be level with his chest, the palms of them facing up. Flipping them over, he pushed the air down and closed his hands into fists.

I mirrored the familiar motions as Steeljaw stretched forward so his back legs were stretched. Then Steeljaw shifted his weight back onto his back legs so he was in a slight crouch.

Jazz saw that we were ready. He slowly brought his still-clenched hands up so his left hand was at his right shoulder and his right hand was under his left elbow. He then turned left and stepped his left leg forward into a Back Stance. The front ped was pointed forward while the back ped stayed where it was at a 45-degree angle. His left hand whipped down so it ended in front of his left leg, with his arm being at another 45-degree angle to his upper body; that was a Low Block. His right hand returned to his right hip.

I did the same thing on my left side, and I missed what Steeljaw was doing since I was focused on my form. It felt really familiar. If Jazz stepped forward into another Back Stance and punched with his right hand, it would be just like the opening to Chong Ji—the white belt form in Taekwondo.

And that was exactly what Jazz did. I was immensely happy. Who'da thunk we'd end up doing my old Taekwondo forms? So many memories of standing next to my whole family as we mimicked Mr. J while practicing forms.

With a great sense of satisfaction, I followed Jazz through the first five forms of Taekwondo.

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-Story): Once Deep Thought pulled to a stop, Giddy was hurrying Allora along.**

 **Giddy- "We're coming in right on schedule but, earlier, you promised a fanart contest. Want to give us the details?**

 **Allora- "Ok, ok. *Turns to the Readers* Here's the deal. I'm holding a fanart contest that is based on this story. Until we hit 500 reviews, anyone can enter for a chance to win a drabble of their own design, written by me, to have themselves featured as a guest character in the Author's Notes for a chapter. Here's how it works: until we hit 500 reviews, anyone can message me on my DeviantArt account at allora217. I'll have a link in my profile so you all can find it. I'll then add your fanart to my favorites folder dedicated to the contest, and also to my Pinterest board, 'cause it's going to be awesome. When we hit 500 reviews, any entries afterward will go towards the second fanart contest I'll be holding later. I'll post a link to a form where you all will fill out which piece is your favorite; from there the winner will be decided by everyone. Now, your art can be made from any medium; whether it be pencil, marker, action shots of your figures, or plushies (I would love to have a pattern for a Steeljaw Plushie), we want to see them. This story offers a lot of cute scenes, so have fun and remember: everyone is a winner already in my book. Hugs."**


	41. Ch40 One Thing After Another

**Author's Note (Mini-Story) - Giddy walked up to where the gang had set up an unexpected semi-permanent campsite. Deep Thought and Cliffhanger were going over what appeared to be a map.**

 **Giddy-"What's the deal? We didn't get lost, did we?"**

 **Deep Thought- "Just double-checking our landmarks. With Allora having been swamped getting ready for classes, we are behind schedule."**

 **Giddy-"Bum…mer. How long do you think we'll be waiting?"**

 **Cliffhanger- "She says we should be able to update today. She's just in the dining car right now putting together something."**

 **Allora came out with a tray full of cookies and energon goodies.**

 **Allora- "Hi, guys, you ready for today!**

 **Everyone, including the readers- "About Time!"**

 **Allora- "I know. I've been gone too long. *Offers tray* Forgive me? I didn't mean to disappear. Life got in the way. But now I should be getting back into the swing of things soon. But for now, let's get going."**

* * *

Ch.40 One Thing After Another

Jazz- "I think that's enough for today, Prowler."

Prowl- "It's Prowl.*Puffs*"

We all returned to the Ready Stance and then bowed to each other, completing our mini-training session.

We had spent an hour going over forms, with Steeljaw following along with his own style. It was fun seeing him move out of the corner of my optic, following along.

I would have been happy to keep on practicing for a while since I didn't have Greenhouse duty today, but I still had to do my daily workout and plan for tomorrow's church service (more like a small group Bible study since I wasn't a pastor by any stretch of the definition).

I also didn't want Ratchet to come after me. If I got grounded again, I would never be able to get any work done.

Steeljaw and I waited for Jazz to collect his datachip from the room's computer terminal before leaving the room.

Jazz- "So, what did you bots think of that training session?"

Prowl- "It was fulfilling. I would like to continue these sessions in the future.*Puffs*"

Steeljaw nodded his helm in agreement with me.

Jazz- "That's great. Just wait 'til we get to sparring."

Uh oh.

Prowl- "Ratchet would have to deem it safe first.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "Aw, come on, Prowler. Don't tell me that you want to wait for Ratchet's permission to spar. You're just itching to have a match, aren't you? You were impatient for gun training, after all."

Actually, not really. Sparring was something that I seldom did outside the family when I was practicing Taekwondo. I was the only girl in my dojo besides my mom, and the only guy that I was comfortable with was my elementary school friend, Andy.

Needless to say, I wasn't too comfortable sparring with someone I didn't know very well.

Prowl- "Prowl, and that was a different matter. What you're suggesting is bordering on what lead to the instance with the Auto-Battle app.*Puffs*"

I wasn't scared about the app or having a panic attack, honest. I just wasn't ready to spar with Jazz yet.

Jazz held up his hands. "Chill, mech. I didn't mean right this minute. I know that you must still be wary about the whole thing. I just meant that when you're ready, we could spar. * Lowers hands* I think it would be kind of fun, is all."

I thought so too, but I was nowhere near ready to spar with people I didn't really know.

Prowl- "I understand, and will think about your proposal.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "Okay, then, when you're ready."

It was hard to tell, but Jazz's mouth did brighten into a smile. If I could see his optics, I'd have bet that they would tell me a different story, but before I could bring up my wing sensors to confirm, he had managed an abrupt change of subject.

Jazz- "So, I hear that Karen is planning a church service tomorrow."

It felt like my engine stalled for a split second, and my wings' sensors skyrocketed. Calm down, calm down. He didn't know that I was Karen. His tone of voice was completely wrong. His optics, behind the visor, would be fixed on me, looking for signs of my reaction. They weren't, according to my wings. Calm down, Karen! I really hoped that he hadn't felt my sensors shoot up; that would be a dead giveaway.

Prowl- "I am aware of that.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "That's cool. Are you planning to go?"

Okay, now I knew what he was up to.

Prowl- "I haven't decided. I have a rather full schedule.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "I bet that you're not the only mech having to make that decision right now."

Now, why would he say that? I'd bet a ton of the mechs scheduled for tomorrow morning would love the excuse to sleep in, claiming to have gone to church. My email should have made everyone…aware…of…that….

I did send out that email, right?

Frantically, I searched my vision screen for its link to my Teletran-1 email. It looked like a computer with an envelope sticking out of the screen. Mentally clicking it and the sent items box, I was dismayed to find that my email wasn't there. Quickly, I switched over to my drafts section and found a single topic bar labeled as _"Sunday Church Notice."_

Noooo, I mentally groaned. How could that have happened? Let's see: Op stole MY DATAPADS and reminded me that I should let bots know that it was okay to skip Sunday morning shift if they were going to church. Because Seaspray still had my computer, I couldn't use it to send my email the normal way, so I decided to hand-write my reports instead while mentally reminding myself to make an email.

Then, Jazz and Steeljaw walked in for lunch. Seaspray gave me back my computer and left, while Steeljaw hid my datapad. I left and returned from lunch. Talked to Jazz and Steeljaw about crystal growing. I then left my office...before typing up the email.

Great; just great. My processor must have made a draft for the email when I made a mental note to make it. With my getting excited about crystal growing and wanting to be done with writing reports for today, I forgot that I still needed to create emails.

Quickly, I thought-wrote on the email draft displayed over my line of sight. Since I was mentally thinking the words, there were no spelling issues.

Ok, now to send it to Teletran-1 so, um... she could scan for any predecessor virus and send it off to everyone else.

Jazz- "Ah, Prowler, you okay, mech?"

I refocused on the there and then, and found myself having paused mid-step. It wasn't enough to fall over. I just had my left ped's heel touching the floor while my right ped was primed to lift away from the ground.

And Jazz and Steeljaw were giving me funny looks. Well, it was more like a smirk from Jazz, but his optics were in a frown. Oops, still had my sensors up. I'd better turn them down a notch.

Finishing my step, I caught up to where they had stopped, and passed them. They both joined me.

Prowl- "It's Prowl, and nothing's wrong.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "You sure? You looked like you were glitching for a sec."

Prowl- "I wasn't glitching. I was merely checking something.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "Checking what?"

Prowl- "Not important.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "Not important? Mech, don't try to mess with me. If it wasn't important then you wouldn't have stopped like that in the middle of the hallway. If it was really not that important, I should get you to the Doc Bot."

Prowl- "I wasn't glitching! I don't need to see Ratchet.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "Prove it! If you can't give me the truth, I'll... *Visor dimmed for a full 15 seconds* Oh. *snicker* That's why you stopped."

Prowl- "What?*Puffs*"

Jazz- "You sent that email just now, right?"

Prowl- "You?*Puffs*"

"Prowler for-got his home…work," Jazz sing-songed.

Jazz then went skipping down the corridor, followed closely by an almost-grinning Steeljaw.

Prowl- "It's Prowl, and I did not forget, Jazz.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "Oh, but you did, Prowler. Even if it was just for a little while. *Stops abruptly*"

Steeljaw stopped at the same time as Jazz, and since I was kind of chasing them down the hallway, I had to scrabble to a stop in time to prevent a collision. The grins that had been gracing both their faces were gone, and they were both staring at me.

Steeljaw's glare was just as intense as Jazz's, but that didn't really matter. What mattered were the words Jazz was saying for the both of them.

Jazz- "Seriously, though, mech, if you do start to glitch, don't lie to me or Steeljaw about it. We don't want anything to happen to you."

I could almost feel the waves of concern washing over me. Even though I thought my actions were a non-issue, they had scared them. I had scared them.

I really wanted to make a joke and act like it was no big deal. Prowl would have just brushed it off and said, "Understood." But neither of those responses would work right now. It wouldn't be right if I tried to brush it off. It wouldn't be fair to them.

Pouring as much emotion as I could into my words, drowning them in my sincerity, I spoke.

Prowl- "If I ever start to glitch or have some major medical emergency, I'll go straight to Ratchet. If I can't get to him, I'll tell someone right away. I promise."

Jazz studied me for a moment before nodding his helm along with Steeljaw.

Jazz- "I'll hold you to it."

Somehow, I knew he would…by using everything in his arsenal. Including his Special Ops team.

Prowl- "Understood."

I quickly passed them and sped ahead, not wanting to continue the conversation any longer. It was just a little too intense for me at the moment.

Faintly, I heard Jazz whisper to Steeljaw.

Jazz- "What are we going to do with that mech, Steely?"

Pfft, Steely.

Trying to stay ahead of them, I would have walked right past the main entrance to the Sciences Wing, but I stopped to stare at the sign above the archway along with its guests.

 _Sciences_

 _Caution when walking through here._

Underneath the normal sign, somebot had managed to find a giant, even by Cybertronian standards, sticky note, and had written, in red ink:

 _YOU DIE, WE DIE, WE ALL GO BOOM!_

There was a second one, saying:

 _RUN! IT'S THE JACKINATOR!_

There was a cartoonish rendition of a mushroom cloud standing in for the exclamation point.

Well, that was childish. Wonder who did that.

Pretending to be an investigator, I took some mental pics of the crime scene, along with doorwing sensors giving the pictures measurement references. Now, how to get them down without getting any fingerprints on the evidence?

Jazz and Steeljaw joined me where I had stopped to ponder.

Jazz- "Well, it's kind of funny. Not the best nickname ever, but it was a good attempt. What do you think, Prowler?"

Prowl- "Mmhm.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "Um, Prowler? You there, mech?"

Did he say something? I tore my optics and my processor away from the sticky notes.

Prowl- "I'm sorry. Did you say something?*Puffs*"

Jazz- "Prowler, are you glitching or are you not?"

Prowl- "It's Prowl, Jazz. And no, I wasn't glitching. I was thinking. Heavily. Now, what was it you were saying?*Puffs*"

That tended to happen whenever I was reading a really good book. Back home, whenever I "disappeared into the book," as my brothers called it, I would make noises at people whenever they said my name. If they stated something along the lines of food, I might say chicken and rice, but that was about it whenever I went into my own little world.

Jazz glared at me for a sec before finally answering, "I said that those notes are kind of funny even if the nickname isn't that great, Prowler. Now, what were you pondering so hard that you couldn't hear me?"

Prowl- "Prowl, and I was wondering how to get those down without getting fingerprints on them.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "Fingerprints? Umm...I don't think you need to worry about that, mech."

Um...yes, I do.

Prowl- "Whatever do you mean?*Puffs*"

Jazz wiggled his fingers—digits?

Jazz- "We don't got no fingerprints."

Prowl- "Yes, we do.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "No, we don't."

Prowl- "Yes, we do. Look, we're just down the hall from Perceptor, Wheeljack, and possibly Skyfire. Why don't we ask them?*Puffs*"

Jazz- "Fine, but wouldn't Ratchet be the best mech to ask?"

Prowl- "Possibly, but we are already here."

Cautiously, we all stepped into the Sciences Wing of the base.

Since the Ark had been an exploration vessel before being sequestered for the Autobot Forces, it had come with everything needed to analyze and survey deep space, which meant that a large part of the ship was dedicated to scientific pursuits.

With the main entrance opening up to two whole corridors of the ship, we could have picked either corridor to get to the other end of Sciences. The layout was like a rectangular loop. The walls were built with a special alloy mesh that was semi-flexible due to its bird bone-like structure on the nanoscopic scale; they were designed to dissipate any blasts before they hit the stronger reinforced walls. With blast doors that could close within a mere picosecond (1*10^-12 or one trillionth of a second), semi-flexible walls that could be replaced, and the racetrack-like shape, any and all blasts that happened within Sciences were unlikely to cause major damage to the rest of the ship.

Sure, the ship would feel the initial shock from a blast, but that shouldn't cause any more pipes to break.

With each lab dedicated to one experiment at a time, the scientists could run a wide variety of experiments at once without worry of one interfering with another.

There was the odd room or two designated for chemicals and machine parts too dangerous to be held in the normal storage sections of the ship.

Each of the doorways for the labs also had blast doors installed to help prevent any blasts from destroying their contents, but, with how often Wheeljack tended to explode things, it was very unlikely that any of the would-be experiments survived for very long.

The main lab was directly across from the main entrance of the wing, if you took out the center row of rooms. It was the largest, allowing for a class-sized group of bots to be in there at the same time. It was also the congregating place of the Science mechs while they were on duty.

It didn't really matter which direction we took, so we went left.

Jazz- "Wheeljack is still logged in, right?"

Prowl- "Yes.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "And there have been no explosions today, right?"

Prowl- "Yes…?"

Where was he going with this?

Jazz- "Uh oh."

He ran for the closest wall and started inching along it. I had to stop my inner laughter when I saw Steeljaw do the same.

Prowl- "What are you two doing?*Puffs*"

Jazz- "What do you think you're doing? Get over here, mech."

Prowl- "Why?*Puffs*"

Jazz- "Cause 'Jack's online. That's why. Now, get over here."

Prowl- "Wheeljack being online doesn't guarantee an explosion. Nothing is going to explode.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "You don't know that!"

Prowl- "Would you be doing this if there had already been an explosion today?*Puffs*"

Jazz- "No, 'cause 'Jack would have been banned from the labs for the rest of the day. Perceptor kicks him out whenever he makes something explode. It's like 'Jack has some weird boost or skill that makes non-flammables explode, or something."

Prowl- "No, he doesn't."

Jazz- "You don't know that. Now, will you quite lollygagging and get over here? You don't want to be in the middle of the hallway if something explodes."

I was just about to continue walking and beat them to the main lab when I caught a slight helm-shake from Steeljaw and stopped. Steeljaw was a serious mech more of the time than Jazz. If he was being overly cautious, too, then maybe it would be a good idea to follow their lead.

It was a good thing that I joined them.

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-Story)-**

 **The gang was camped on a hilltop. Deep Thought went ahead to scout for any possible Deceptiglitches since a lot of time had passed since his last scouting mission.**

 **Giddy-"I hope we don't run into any Deceptiglitches. We're already way off schedule!"**

 **Allora- "Me too. I just hated not having the time to get a new chapter out for everyone."**

 **Cliffhanger- "How's the fanart contest going? It's still on, right?"**

 **Allora- "Yes, it is. I've got one submission and I'm looking forward to any more on the way. I should mention, though, that it doesn't have to be a drawing. It could picture comics using your toys or mugs with favorite lines painted on them. They can also be recreations of objects in the story, like Karen's necklace in chapter 2: Fly Away With Who, the lamp from the Prelude, or a polymer clay creation of Prowl's crystal plant. It can be anything that is inspired by the story. Even a drabble, since writing is an art. It doesn't have to be a drawing. Just saying."**

 **Cliffhanger- "We did get everyone's mail, and we want to say thanks and that we're glad you enjoyed the Taekwondo bit from the last chapter. It was fun making Allora search for her old box set of forms."**

 **Giddy-"Also, I get the impression most of the readership could kick my aft. I only made it to orange belt, and that was a long, long time ago, and I don't remember squat. *sniffle***

 **Allora- "I plan on updating on Sunday next week. I'm not sure if my work load will allow for weekly updates like I want, but I'm currently working on something that will help keep you all better informed on when I'm going to be updating. Hugs and Strength to everyone. I'm so glad to be back and I hope you all have a wonderful week. *Turns to Giddy* You said something about comics last chapter, if I recall correctly.**

 **Giddy- 0.0;**


	42. Ch41 Jackinator

**Author's Note (Mini-Story)- Allora came barreling up into the campsite the Gang had set up.**

 **Allora- "Run!"**

 **Everyone- "What's wrong!"**

 **Allora- "The Quintesson of Homework! The Professor!"**

* * *

 **Ch. 41 Jackinator**

Thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk-

BOOM!

The thunderous sound of all the doors slamming shut deafened my audio receptors before the even-louder boom of an explosion reached me.

The tremors from the blast were more profound than any I had felt in other places on the ship.

I actually fell flat on my big, black, metal butt. So much for my balancing act with my cat-tail-like wings.

In fact, my wings weren't even in their normal position anymore. They had almost instantaneously gone into their beetle-wing position. My audio receptors, along with my wing sensors, had turned offline at the same time.

I felt half blind, having been reduced to relying on my vision, touch, smell, and taste.

I'd never realized how much I relied on my hearing to process the world around me. I could still feel the vibrations of the explosion, but they felt alien without the sound to accompany them.

The loss of my sensors made me almost feel human again. No longer was the world shown in sharp contrast. Fine details blurred to fuzzy images. My vision was still superior to my normal eyesight, but it looked more real than anything I had seen in the game so far.

I didn't dare try to stand up for fear of injury during the attempt. Jazz and Steeljaw were in the same boat, for they had both fallen over when the tremors began. Jazz had gone into the standard tornado position that elementary schools all over the U.S. had drilled into us.

Steel could only fold back his audio receptors, seal his wings into subspace, and close his optics. The perpetual cloud of smog caused by our medication, which I had learned to ignore, had disappeared.

Steel had stopped venting altogether. That was the only explanation I could come up with, since my own cloud of puff was still around. Steel must have switched to his internal air tank to prevent inhaling harmful compounds that might be present after the explosion.

Wish I could do that.

After what seemed like eternity—more like five minutes—the tremors stopped and we were able to stand on our own peds again. Jazz was moving his lips, but no sound was coming out.

Oh, yeah. My audios and sensors were off.

Turning on my audios first, I nearly had my Cybertronian version of an eardrum burst by Jazz.

Jazz- "Geez, That Must Have Been Wheeljack's Loudest Explosion Yet!"

Trying to turn down the reception and covering my audios, "Jazz, Tone It Down!*Puffs*"

Jazz- "What!"

Prowl- "I SAID, TONE IT DOWN!*Puffs*"

Jazz- "Geez, you don't have to shout, mech. Ow!"

Prowl- "I had to shout. You couldn't hear me. Did the blast knock out your audio receptors?*Puffs*"

Jazz- "Sort of. My audios shut off just a split second after the blast. They're still ringing, just not as bad. Boy, does that hurt. *Gives Steeljaw a glance* Sorry, mech, didn't mean to add on to your pain. Us sharp-ears better watch out from now on, huh?"

Steel snorted in agreement and started walking for the main lab. In the middle of the hallway. Guess it was safe enough, now that Wheeljack had made his daily dose of Kaboom!

I also guessed that I was the lucky one in this. If my door wings hadn't reacted when they did, I might have seriously damaged my audios.

The door to the main lab was oddly undamaged. There were no signs that it had suffered a blast at 'Jack's hand. Jazz just walked right up to it and banged his hand on it.

Jazz- "You mechs alive in there? You haven't sent out an "I'm alive" comm yet."

I didn't hear anything through the thick door, but Jazz and Steel both tilted their helms to listen better.

Jazz- "Okay, if it's cool with you guys, we're planning to come in. The coast is clear, right?"

Again, I didn't hear anything, but Jazz and Steel nodded as if there was an answer they liked.

Jazz- "Come on, Prowler."

Prowl- "Prowl.*Puffs*"

Jazz punched the default 1,2,3,4 into the keypad, and the doors slowly rolled back into the wall to reveal the large, disheveled lab.

The laboratory had what you would expect to find: tables, chairs, computers, glassware, complex-looking machines, datapads, paper (at least it looked like paper; the sticky notes sure did), and styli.

The tables, computers, and other machines were in their normal places and covered in a light layer of soot. Everything else that wasn't nailed down had been strewn across the lab.

The floor directly in front of the door had been painted yellow and black with the warning, "Safety Zone," printed in bold block letters. What appeared to be shatter-proof glass shields had been erected on the edge of the safety line, with a smaller door opening directly in front of the main door.

Probably so that poor mechs fleeing a blast could find the one doorway to semi-safety.

Perceptor and Skyfire were digging through a pile of glass and chair bits against one of the walls. I couldn't see Wheeljack anywhere.

Steeljaw stayed by my side while Jazz walked right up to Skyfire and started helping with the cleanup.

Jazz- "Jacky's in there, huh?"

Skyfire- "Yep, we warned him that it was going to explode. Didn't help."

Jazz- "He never does learn. At least he's good for a laugh."

Oh, dear Lord!

I rushed over and joined them in their efforts to uncover Wheeljack, but slowed my pace to match theirs after seeing that they weren't that worried.

Of course, they wouldn't be worried. By now, 'Jack had probably gotten them desensitized to him exploding himself. He must really have a buffer for making explosions happen and surviving them.

Steeljaw joined me, only picking up one piece at a time since he didn't have hands. I could now see Wheeljack's arm.

Trying to keep my voice calm, "What was he testing?*Puffs*"

Perceptor- "Not testing, making. He was working on one of the solutions for the crystal house. The energon he was working with had a greater quantity of water than recommended according to the recipe."

Seriously, didn't he learn from the last time he used energon with too much water in it?

Prowl- "What was he working with?*Puffs*"

Skyfire- "Mostly scrap metal that's too small to really do anything with. Since it looked safe, Perceee..."

Perceptor- "Skyfire!"

Skyfire "...eptor and I figure it was safe enough for us to do our own thing. Next thing we know, Jackie goes, 'Now I just need some potassium metal, and it's done.'"

No, really? No, nope, nada. Will should have known better. He was a chemist, for crying out loud!

Prowl- "He didn't.*Puffs*"

Steeljaw and Jazz had stilled their efforts, hearing the tone my conversation had taken.

Perceptor vented. "He did. Unfortunately. Luckily, our systems were able to warn us in time."

Jazz- "Hold up. How's that possible?"

Skyfire flicked his wings. "Wings."

Jazz- "Okay. Percy?"

Perceptor- "Jazz, I would prefer it if you would call me Perceptor. Ahem, my microscopic lens does contain a sensor of the same caliber as in either Skyfire's or Prowl's wings, but it can only work in a small radius since it uses a dense beam. Instead of relying on a sensor for warning of danger, my systems tune in to my audios, olfactory sensor, and my optics. I have a subroutine that catalogs the information and makes the necessary connections to predict danger.

Prowl- "I think we should confiscate any and all water-reactive metals from Wheeljack's workspace.*Puffs*"

Skyfire- "You think that would deter him?"

Prowl- "No, but it might slow him down.*Puffs*"

Jazz laughed. "I wouldn't bet on it, Prowler."

Prowl- "Prowl.*Puffs*"

By now, most of 'Jack's lower torso had been exposed. I thought I saw the tip of his ped twitch.

The next instant, he burst out of the pile of rubble and paper, his helm fin-lights on either side strobing blue and red.

Wheeljack- "Wowsers! That sure was a doozy."

Skyfire- "Um, 'Jack…."

Wheeljack- "What?"

He twisted his helm down and looked at both of his hands.

Wheeljack- "Oh."

'Oh' was right. I knew that the metal he had been messing with was super reactive when it came to water, but I'd never have thought it could take a bot's hand clean off.

The hand 'Jack was staring at was his left one; must be a lefty. It was broken completely off at the wrist. A perfectly clean break—too clean of one. There should have been some jagged edges, but instead it looked like a knife had been taken to a stick of butter—that's how clean it was.

Perceptor reached behind him and grabbed the missing limb. It, too, had a too clean of a break for it to be normal.

Perceptor- "I believe this is yours."

Jazz- "Guess you need the Doc Bot again, huh, 'Jacky."

Wheeljack- "Yep, just let me get ready."

Prowl- "You mean Ratchet has had to reattach limbs already? That wasn't in the reports!*Major puffs*"

Everyone was giving me funny looks, even Steeljaw. Sure, I had -kind of- shouted, but, seriously, shouldn't I -not- be the only one freaking out about peoples' limbs being blown clean off?

Wheeljack, not taking his optics off me, simply nestled his left wrist into the gaping hole in his left arm and popped it into place.

I jumped at the unexpectedness of it. What the?! It sounded just like a guy cracking his neck. The kind of crack that always made me nervous that his head was going to get stuck. The kind that made me flash back to that one night at the hospital.

I felt imaginary goosebumps crawl up my spine.

Wheeljack- "Why would he write about it when it hasn't happened yet?"

Steeljaw trotted over to me and put a paw on my calf. Giving it a comforting pat, he continued past. He was followed by 'Jack, Skyfire, and Jazz.

Perceptor was close after them but paused long enough to ask me, "Is there something wrong with your wings, Prowl?"

Prowl- "No, why?*Puffs*"

Perceptor- "I have never seen them in that position, is all. My apologies."

With that, he walked off.

Now why... Eeek!

Nearly popping my wing joints, my wings shot back into their normal position of readiness. They had stayed in the beetle position. How had I missed that?

Warnings flashed across my vision screen.

 _Warning: You are still in a high risk area. It is advised that you turn off your sensors and move to a safer area. Warning: You were within the blast radius of a potassium metal, water, and energon explosion. Seek medical assistance immediately. You have received hairline fractures along your exoplating. There has been no sensor damage to your wings, chevron, or audio receptors. It is suggested that these be checked by a medical doctor._

Along with the warnings, I was being blasted with information about the lab I was now in. Jeez, Louise. Tone it down, already. That's better.

With my helm still spinning from information overload, I reset my sensors to their normal settings. I also took a mental screenshot of all the warnings for Ratchet, since he might want to see them.

I wondered why my helm didn't freak out that much when I went into shock on Monday. Maybe I was in worse shape than I thought, if I wasn't able to perceive those messages. I'd have to ask Ratchet.

I calmly jogged to catch up with the group.

* * *

Ratchet- "Blast it, Wheeljack! What did I tell you!"

WHACK!

Wheeljack- "OW! Not so hard. *Ducks the next swipe of the wrench* That I shouldn't be in here again this week."

WHACK!

Ratchet- "Thaaaat's right. And what do you do? Not only are you in here again, but you bring in five other mechs who happen to be injured because of your carelessness."

Prowl- "Ratchet, I don't think that's necessary.*Puffs*"

Ratchet whirled away from Wheeljack to threaten me with his wrench.

Ratchet- "Don't get me started, Prowl. You're in trouble, too. Now, let me finish fixing this mech and teaching him a lesson."

WHACK!

Jazz- "Glad I'm not 'Jack right now."

"I don't know about that, Jazz. I think Ratchet is itching to give everybot he feels is at fault a whack."

First Aid had said this from his perch outside the medbay. He was sitting on the top of a ladder next to Skyfire's special medical chair.

Even with his wings folded down, Sky just took up too much room in the medbay. So, he was stuck outside, along with 'Aid, trying to hear what was going on inside.

Jazz- "What do you mean? I didn't do nothin'."

Perceptor- "You did lead Prowl, who is still recovering from many injuries, to a rather dangerous section of the ship."

Jazz threw his hands into the air.

Jazz- "I didn't even plan on us heading over there today. We were only stopping by to ask a question."

Ratchet- "And, pray tell, what question was so important that you would risk going into Wheeljack's domain?"

Jazz- "Umm...Well."

Prowl- "It was a question related to my investigation.*Puffs*"

Skyfire's voice echoed from outside. "What investigation?"

Prowl- "Someone pulled a prank on Wheeljack. I was merely using it as an opportunity to hone my skills.*Puffs*"

Wheeljack- "What did they do?"

Prowl- "Posted new signs at the entrance that stated, 'You die, we die, we all go boom!' and 'Run! It's the Jackinator!'*Puffs*"

Wheeljack- "Ha! That's funny. I think I'll take that as my new nickname. *Stretches forward* What do you think, Sky'?"

Whack!

Wheeljack- "Ooowww."

Ratchet- "Quit moving."

Wheeljack- "Alright, I'll quit."

Skyfire- "I don't know, 'Jack. Seems like it's asking for trouble."

Wheeljack- "It's funny, though."

I had a feeling that the Terror Twins wouldn't find it hard to get their supplies from the Lab any time soon. Seemed like Will had a little of the prankster streak, too.

Perceptor- "I wouldn't advise it, Wheeljack. That kind of nickname encourages unwanted behavior."

Wheeljack- "Fine. So, what did you want to ask that was related to your investigation, Prowl?"

Prowl- "Do we have fingerprints?*Puffs*"

3,...2,... and:

Ratchet- "Fingerprints!"

Prowl- "Yes. Fingerprints.*Puffs*"

Ratchet- "Of course we don't! Why in the blazes would you even think that?"

Prowl- "Due to the nature of our pens."

Ratchet- "Our pens."

Skyfire leaned his helm into the doorway of the medbay.

Skyfire- "What do you mean, Prowl?"

First Aid- "Skyfire! Get back in your seat! I can't finish your helm scan when you're a half a mile away."

Skyfire- "Sorry, 'Aid."

He promptly leaned back in his chair so First Aid could finish.

Prowl- "If you haven't used one yet, I recommend trying one. They have the ability to connect to the nanosensors in our hands to help prevent misspellings by reading our processors."

Ratchet put his hands on his hips, with his trusty wrench still clenched in the right. Wheeljack looked sort of relieved.

Ratchet-"Well, just because they can magnetize to our hands doesn't mean that you have a fingerprint."

Perceptor- "Actually, Ratchet, Prowl may have a point."

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-Story)- After the long-awaited chapter update, the Gang was sitting down to some good old s'mores.**

 **Giddy-"I thought we were doomed to Homework Hell forever. You got a life? The Professor don't care!"**

 **Allora- "I know. It's not that I don't like my professors in real life. They're great. It's just that _The Professor_ makes the workload too long for me to get anything done Fanfiction-wise. *Sign* I hate homework and midterms.**

 **Deep Thought- "Yeah, well, they're important if you want a good paying job later on."**

 **Allora- "I know."**

 **Cliffhanger- "You said that you were working on something to help the readers stay informed on when you can update again, right?"**

 **Allora-"Oh, yeah. *Turns to the Readers* Thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews. They made my month so much better. I feel bad that there isn't a good way for me to keep you guys up to date, so I've made a Youtube Channel for you all."**

 **Giddy-"What does that entail, exactly?"**

 **Allora- "It's going to be a weekly vlog, letting you guys know that I'm alive and how far the new chapter is from completion. I plan on having reviews of other fanfiction, stuff featured in the story, maybe some short craft videos when I can't update chapters."**

 **Giddy-"Ooooh. Please include yarn." *cat ears***

 **Allora- "Oh, and the channel is called Allora Star217. Make sure that when you're searching for it you leave a space between Allora and Star, or you won't find it. Please Subscribe to it for weekly updates. I'll start answering reviews and comments in person on the channel. Hugs and Strength."**


	43. Ch42 Professor Perceptor

**Author's Note (Mini-Story)**

 **The Gang had been camped out for a long time now, in a cabin not too far from the tracks. Winter had settled in. Christmas and New Year's had come and gone, but they still had their little tree, its branches filled with ornaments and lights that illuminated the night. They were waiting for Allora's return.**

 **Cliffhanger- "Is it going to be today?"**

 **Giddy- "Let me check my crystal ball. *Taps crystal ball* Crud, it's too cold to work. I'll try the backup. Uh, nope, sorry, I can't help you. My balls are frozen."**

 **Deep Thought- "Well, I hope this snow doesn't cause her too much trouble getting here. It will be difficult to make any headway on the new chapters with this snow."**

 **From outside, the deep honk of a Peterbilt 379 called for their attention. They all ran out into the freezing cold, Cliffhanger bringing Giddy her winter gear since it was 7° below zero.**

 **Even though the semi was covered in snow, the Gang could tell that it was painted to resemble Optimus Prime from the Movieverse. On its flatbed trailer was a large snowplow, far too large for any truck to push. A figure clad in large snow boots, thick red jacket, white ski gloves, hand-knitted scarf, and a brown Alpha hat jumped out of the vehicle and walked into the area that the truck's headlights fell upon.**

 **Allora- "Hi, guys! I'm back."**

* * *

Ch.42 Professor Perceptor: The Science of Fingerprints

Ratchet- "What?"

Perceptor- "As I just said, Prowl does have a point."

Ratchet- "We are giant alien robots! Last time I checked, robots don't have fingerprints!"

Perceptor- "What is a fingerprint?"

Ratchet- "The impression of a person's fingertip on the surface of an object. Everybody knows that."

Perceptor- "Yes, that is what a fingerprint is. Following that definition, any impression of an object would leave a corresponding print. Footprint, tongue print, leaf print, and so on. With that in mind, we could leave a fingerprint in these forms merely by touching an object. Now, what I believe Prowl and Jazz were truly asking was, do Cybertronians leave behind fingerprints? Do they have markers that are unique to the individual mech? Do these bodies have a similar mechanism equivalent to a human's finger tip? These are the questions we should be asking."

Ratchet- "I guess."

Perceptor- "Prowl, where do you suggest we start this mental study?"

Prowl- "Oh, um... *Puffs*"

…And I had reverted back to being a college student, mostly paying attention to the professor but not prepared enough to answer his question. Why is it that professors everywhere have an instinctual homing device to find the student who doesn't want to be called on? Deer-in-headlights syndrome to the extreme.

Prowl- "I think we should discuss why humans leave behind fingerprints on surfaces like glass. Any object could leave a print in something like mud, but not everything can leave a print on glass. *Puffs*"

Perceptor- "Good observation. Yes, I believe that would be a good starting point."

Phew, glad that was over.

Perceptor- "Fingerprints are the product of the oils found in our skin and the friction ridges on our fingertips."

Jazz- "Friction ridges? Are those so we can grip things better?"

'Jack practically bounced off his berth with excitement.

Wheeljack- "You would think! But there was this study a few years back that said they actually reduce the friction between our fingers and objects. They now believe friction ridges have something to do with wicking away water from our fingers so it is easier to grab things. Of course, they didn't really test the friction between fingers and rough objects, just the smooth stuff."

Perceptor- "Wheeljack is correct that scientists are still trying to discover the purpose of friction ridges, but that isn't relevant to our current discussion. Now, back to what I was steering the conversation towards. Fingerprints, being the product of oils and the shape of our friction ridges, highlight the unique design of an individual's friction ridges. Everyone has a unique finger ridge set, meaning that each finger or thumb has its own pattern, completely different from anyone else's. If we were currently Earthside, I would ask you to examine your fingertips. You would find that each tip would have a different ridge design, even if it's only a minute difference."

Prowl- "So, even though one of your fingers might have a right loop pattern, another could have a whirl pattern? Even if it's on the same hand?*Puffs*"

Perceptor- "Yes, but those are only the most basic patterns used in forensics. There are many shapes formed by the ridges that help identify an individual. When investigators are comparing fingerprints, they are looking for all of those minuscule identification markers to match between the suspect and the print record. Of course, there are many issues with today's system of examining fingerprints, which I can go into greater detail about at a later date. That is, if you wish. I know my lectures can become rather boring after a time."

Everyone but Ratchet- "They're not boring! *Prowl puffs*"

Ratchet- "This one's interesting, at least."

Yeah, right. More like trying to hide how much you are enjoying it. Like I should be trying to do. So much for hiding emotions, but I don't think anyone's noticed.

Perceptor nodded his helm in thanks before continuing.

Perceptor- "So, putting that on hold for now, let's get back to the question at hand. Do Cybertronians have similar markings to those of humans on their fingertips? In order to answer that, it would benefit us to examine one mech's servos under a microscope and go from there. Ratchet, is there a microscope available for this experiment?"

Ratchet- "'Aid, you know where it is? You've been digging through the cupboards more often than not, lately."

First Aid- "I think so. Just let me finish with Skyfire real quick."

While waiting for 'Aid to finish with Skyfire, Ratchet returned to checking Wheeljack for issues before turning his tender care towards me. Thankfully, there was nothing new to complain about.

Ratchet- "Despite your and everyone's attempts, you're on track for finishing the cough syrup treatment this upcoming week."

Thank goodness. No more dragon-breath for me, thanks.

Prowl- "That is good to hear.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "Aww, that's too bad. The smoking-dragon affect really makes you look mysterious, Prowler."

Prowl- "Prowl, and no, it doesn't. It is more annoying than anything.*Puffs*"

Secretly, I liked the dragon-breath effect, too, just not every waking moment of my day with it. If I were alone in my office, I would take a short, two-second break to let off a long puff, not unlike what I would do during the winter months back home.

Growing up, waiting five minutes for the bus felt like forever to my brothers and me, but that wait seemed to triple in length during the cold, dark mornings of January and February. To help pass the Minnesota mornings, we would pretend to be dragons and let out breaths of cold flame and mini-roars. There was also always a family of wild turkeys roosting in the trees across the street during those months. They would only gobble if there were no cars coming, so, of course, we made a game of gobbling back to them before a car passed by. Whoever was the best gobbler could almost always get them to gobble back.

Yep, dragon's breath did bring back a lot of childhood memories for me, but that was only when I was taking a break from being Prowl for a moment.

First Aid walked back into the lab, wheeling his ladder into the main storage closet. Skyfire pushed his semi-folded chair into the room so 'Aid could put it away. With that done, 'Aid was quick to rifle through the cupboards before drawing the microscope out in triumph.

First Aid- "Ha, found it. It was behind some of the manuals for the power tools. I thought I asked you to put those in the office, Ratchet."

Ratchet- "Where they'd be too far away in an emergency."

First Aid- "Where they could be lost, you mean. I can't find anything for you if you keep moving things to weird places."

Ratchet- "I have a system."

First Aid- "Yes, you do, and it conflicts with mine."

This probably wasn't the first time they'd had this mini-fight. Doc Raf struck me as the kind of man to leave his stuff wherever he felt like it, one of chaos organization's many forms. Kaylie, on the other hand, was organized in the traditional sense of the term. Not overly so, by labeling everything, but everything did have its proper place within its storage container.

First Aid plopped the microscope on an unoccupied berth for us to cluster around. Skyfire just poked his helm inside to get a better looky-loo.

This microscope wasn't the run of the mill. It was the high-end kind that made you think of the future. The microscope was silvery-white in color, with binocular eyepieces to view the specimens on the black stage. The traditional light below the stage wasn't open to the air around it, but was contained in a cone with its base connected to the stage.

Next to the knobs used to adjust the placement of everything were keypads with tiny calculator screens above them. Probably, if a mech knew the exact place he wanted his lens, he could type that in and the machine would move it for him without fuss.

The objective lens was contained in a thick cylinder that most likely held as many lenses as an ophthalmologist's office contained. My wings could probably tell me exactly what was inside the cylinder at this range, at full power, but I didn't feel like trying it with everybot's frames pressed close to mine.

I still hadn't raised the strength on the wing sensors past 60 percent since Perceptor had pointed out that my wings were folded into their protective beetle position. At the very least, I was a wee bit nervous to have my wings fully exposed again. Being within the blast radius of an explosion does that to you.

The microscope had ports at its base so it could connect to other computers, datapads, extensions to the microscope, and directly into a bot's processor.

Perceptor- "Now, I need a volunteer for this."

Jazz- "I'll volunteer one of my jazz hands, Perceptor. As long as I get it back afterwards. Kind of need 'em for my line of work."

Cue inner snort. That joke just keeps on popping up.

Perceptor- "I see no need to tag and bag it for future study, Jazz."

Wheeljack- "Would mine be easier to deal with, Percy? It does..."

Skyfire- "Probably not, 'Jack. You'll have blasted away your prints ages ago, with all of your blow-ups this week."

That, and Ratchet still didn't know about that little adaptation of his. You can't keep it a secret forever, guys, and Ratchet will be the one exploding when the cat gets out of the bag. Sky definitely knew this and was trying to delay the inevitable by preventing 'Jack from setting Ratchet off. Again.

Perceptor merely shook his helm before setting the scope up so Jazz's pinky finger could be placed under the objective lens without touching it. Perceptor looked through the microscope while his shoulder-mounted lens telescoped in and out like a camera lens.

Perceptor- "Interesting. *Moves away from the microscope* Would everyone like a look? You can describe anything interesting you see to the rest of the... group."

He really wanted to say "to the rest of the class," didn't he? My ears were just aching to hear that right now. The habits of a student.

Everybot was really polite and waited for their turn at the microscope. A rather loud debate started up between Ratchet, Wheeljack, and Skyfire while I waited for First Aid to finish. Jazz, being a good sport about being the model, struck up a side conversation with Perceptor.

Skyfire- "There are clear pores and scratches in the metal to help identify a mech."

Ratchet- "Those scratches could be from anything. Knowing Jazz, those could be from when he strained his wrists on Tuesday. Besides, scratches can be buffed out."

Wheeljack- "But those scratches are microscopic. Unless you're a micro-surgeon, I don't think those are coming out anytime soon."

Skyfire- "They can help a mech. It's not like every mech can get the exact same scratches. Mechs do a wide range of things and no one does the exact same thing."

Ratchet- "But those events would build up a lot of scratches. Within a matter of days, any scratches that you know about could be covered by new ones. You would have to update the scratch pattern daily, and that's not convenient for us. It's not like we can ask Megatron to come over once a day so we can get his prints."

Wheeljack- "You are admitting that we have finger prints!"

Ratchet- "No, I'm not. I'm saying it's not possible. Besides, we don't produce metal oils, last time I checked."

First Aid tapped me on the shoulder.

First Aid- "Your turn."

Prowl- "Thank you. *Puffs*"

Taking a small step to get into position, I felt someone tap my thigh. Steeljaw; I'd completely forgotten about him, just now. I glanced down at him. He must have been just quietly following the conversation, not adding anything to it himself.

If he was following the conversation, he might want to look into the microscope, too.

Not evening thinking about it, I scooped him up and held him level with the eyepiece like I would do for a toddler.

He, of course, gave a startled look before leaning towards the scope. After a moment, he leaned back to look at me.

Taking that as his way of saying, "Your turn," I set him down. That's when I saw everyone staring at me.

What? It's not like he could jump up onto the berth to look at the scope himself. It was sitting on the edge away from where he could crouch comfortably. It saved him, Jazz, and Perceptor the hassle of reorganizing everything.

Choosing to ignore them, I finally took a look.

A rough, dull-white landscape. Pits that were sunken in the waves of the metallic skin. If I looked long enough, I could make new constellations based on the pits' positions. They weren't in any apparent patterns, nothing like staggering. They were grouped randomly in bunches of various sizes that looked like galaxies made of black holes. What must have been scratches were canyons among the galaxies. The galaxies lit up and sparked for a brief moment, blinding me like a camera flash, before going dark again.

What the…?

Jazz- "Sorry, didn't mean to twitch."

Okay, then. I must have "eeped" or something, or Jazz wouldn't have said anything.

So, those spark with movement. If they're open like that, they could be some sort of socket or... My pen!

Those must be the nanosensors my pen connects with to autocorrect my spelling when working on reports.

I pulled away from the scope, freeing Jazz from being a guinea pig.

Perceptor- "What did you see, Prowl?"

Prowl- "I observed what the others described: the pits, the scratches, and the rough surface of the metal. When Jazz twitched, it caused sparks to ignite within the pores, which I believe are the nanosensors that are used to feel objects and connect with our pens.*Puffs*"

First Aid- "Connect to our pens?"

Wheeljack- "Oh, those things are so cool. They somehow connect to your brain and autocorrect your spelling as you write. Wish we had those Earthside. Might have improved my grades on my papers, back in college."

Ratchet- "SO, we have magic touch receptors in our fingers. So what? It's not like they leave a print for us to find with some dust and a piece of tape."

Skyfire- "But something is there. That could be mapped. Prowl, did you see any distinguishing features?"

Prowl- "There may be ways to tell two mechs apart by their nanosensors, but I do not have enough information at this time to make that assessment. A question I would like to have answered is whether these sensors do leave behind evidence when they touch an object. Humans leave behind trace amounts of oil. Perceptor?*Puffs*"

Perceptor- "Cybertronians do have bodily fluids. Energon, coolant, lubricant, and so on. The sensors on this surface produce a conductive gel to help enhance touch signals. This gel can act like the oils in our skin and be left behind for forensics, but it does not leave as clear an image. There is also another thing these fingers leave behind when they touch something. They leave behind an electrical charge on objects that can be detected. This evidence doesn't last forever and will eventually disappear as the charge loses power, but this, along with the gel, can be used to identify a mech. However, unless you have the Cybertronian tech designed for finding these charged prints, and are searching for them, you won't be able to find them."

First Aid- "Charged prints?"

Jazz- "Like a magnet to a nail. Rub them together a few times, and the nail becomes magnetic."

Wheeljack- "Yes, but that applies to more than just magnets and some metals. A lot of chemical processes rely on the charge of elements changing permanently or temporarily. Like batteries. They have anodes and cathodes, which are a positively charged metal and a negatively charged metal connected by a salt bridge and a wire so the ions move around."

Okay, now everybot who wasn't a chem major had their optics whirling at this point. I kind of remembered what Wheeljack was saying from Chem II, but batteries weren't my forte.

Skyfire- "'Jack, if they want to learn about voltaic cells, they can look it up in their chem books later. Let's give them a break from the magic of science for a bit."

Wheeljack- "Oh, yeah, that might be a good idea."

Ratchet shook his helm before waving his hands about.

Ratchet- "All right, science lesson is over. You all scat so I can get some work done. Shoo. Not you, 'Aid. I need your help, still."

All of us scrambled to get through the door before Ratchet felt tempted to practice his wrench throwing. Wheeljack and Skyfire headed off towards the Labs, while Jazz and Steeljaw headed towards the sleeping quarters.

I decided to follow them, but Perceptor drew me aside first.

Perceptor- "Did that answer all of your questions?"

Prowl- "Yes, the lesson will help me in the future, but, for my intended purpose, *sigh* I'm afraid that the earlier explosion destroyed the evidence for my practice investigation. Do you possibly know where I can find this equipment you were describing?*Puffs*"

Perceptor- "No, I do not. I did not reach that section of the manual for Enforcer forensics before being drawn away on Wednesday. That work, and many others, must be read for my colleagues and me to fully understand the sciences we are working with. I take it that your career before coming here did not involve police work?"

Oh dear. How much can I tell him? Um...well, I might have to visit the Labs a lot in order to understand my job better, if only the forensics portion of my character's description.

Prowl- "My only experience in that area is field trips to the local police station, documentaries, and some science fiction works. My major doesn't cover a lot of what I'm supposed to be able to do as an Enforcer and Battle Tactician.*Puffs*"

Perceptor- "I see. If you can't find the material on the subject in your office or quarters, I might have copies for you to borrow. I do believe Tele-Traan1 has many of the materials as well, but some may be too sensitive to be stored within its memory drives."

Prowl- "That is sound advice. I will keep that in mind.*Puffs*"

Jazz called down from farther ahead, "Prowler, you coming?"

Perceptor- "One more question, before you go?"

Prowl- "Yes. *Shouting back to Jazz* It's Prowl, and I'll be along in a moment.*Puffs*"

Perceptor- "Jazz told me, briefly, about your analysis of crystal growing. He even gave me a recording of the conversation. Would you be willing to visit Sciences this upcoming week to go over what you said? It would help us with the cleanup of the Crystalhouse."

Jazz recorded that!? Jeez, wish he'd asked first, before passing that along. But he was Special Ops. Probably some sort of side training for gathering intelligence in the future. And it wasn't like I'd spilled my deepest, darkest secrets to him, or anything.

Prowl- "I look forward to it.*Puffs*"

* * *

 **Author's Note (Mini-Story)**

 **The Gang was back inside the cabin, which should have been called a log mansion, since it was large enough to hold Deep Thought's form. Allora had hurried them back inside, out of the cold, and hot chocolate drinks were made—both the human and Cybertronian versions, that is.**

 **Giddy- "I want one that size! *Points to Deep Thought's large cube of hot energon* So, Allora, what's new with you?"**

 **Allora- "Well, I passed all my classes. I had a really good Christmas with the family, and now I'm ready to get this story rolling again."**

 **Deep Thought- "The snow is going to make that difficult."**

 **Allora- "That's why I brought the plow. It'll clear the tacks as we're rolling. But we'll have to load the truck and trailer onto two of the cars. I need to return them to their proper owner first."**

 **Cliffhanger- "Okay, but before we get back on the tracks…is the contest still up?"**

 **Allora- "Yes, totally. It's up until the story has 500 reviews, as always. *Turns to the readers* Hello, everyone, and hello to everyone who found this story during my unplanned hiatus. I'm sorry I've been gone for so long, but I'm back now and plan to update some more before The Professor (The Quintesson of Homework) decides to rear its ugly head again. Also, if you follow me on Youtube, I'll be uploading a video by the end of the week showcasing how to make a Cybertronian Mask."**

 **Giddy- "Sweet, I've been waiting for that tutorial! Still haven't figured out who your mask is, though."**

 **Allora- "Oh, and Happy New Year! And even though I'm late on this, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays."**


	44. Ch43 First Sunday (aka The UPDATE)

**Author's Note (Mini-Story): The scene opens up on an old train depot. The rails have oxidized over time and the paint of the station's warehouses and platforms has faded. However, there are signs that the station isn't as abandoned as it may appear. Weeds and grass have been cut back from the rails. Door hinges and rail switches have been oiled, not too long ago. Most of the warehouses have chains blocking the way against vandals, but one stands out for the fact that there isn't a lock.**

 **Slowly, the doors open slightly to reveal…**

 **Cliffhanger- "Deep Thought! The Readers have found us."**

 **Resounding thumps from Deep Thought's steps grow louder at his approach.**

 **Deep Thought- "Oh, hi, guys. Sorry we've been out of the game so long. You guys want to come in to see Giddy and Allora? They were just packing up, come on in."**

 **Inside, the warehouse has been transformed into a well-lit library, with towers of papers standing like pillars at the ends of bookshelves. Thought and Cliff lead the way through a sort of maze to where Giddy is trying to help Allora pack up. Which is, mostly, Giddy waiting for Allora to climb out of the most recent stack of papers.**

 **Giddy- "I think you have reached the point where enough becomes too much."**

 **Allora- "I know, I know! I can't help it. When I want to do something right, I over-research it. *Sees the readers while trying to climb out* Ah, hi, guys."**

 **And she falls in again...**

 **Cliffhanger- "You sure you don't want some help?"**

 **Allora- "I'm good. Just lost my balance. Give me a sec."**

 **The tower completely collapses after Allora finally worms her way out.**

 **Allora- "Great. Well, that's gotta wait for a later date. *Turns to the readers again and bows deeply* I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to take this long, but I wanted this chapter to be perfect and things kept getting in the way and I promise that I wouldn't leave"Is This Reality" unfinished. *Gasp* This story and you guys mean so much to me, I promise, no matter how long I'm gone, I'm always working to get the next chapter to you guys!"**

 **Giddy- "I swear she hasn't lost her, *ahem* train of thought."**

 **Deep Thought laughed, "Like we would let her not think about this story every single day while she's been away."**

 **Cliffhanger- "Speaking of which…Allora, why don't we have this place become our permanent library so you don't have to pack it all up? That way we can get rolling with the story."**

 **Allora- "Perfect, but first- *Rushes off and comes back with a plate* -Cookies, anyone?"**

* * *

 _ **Ch 43. First Sunday**_

"Arg why is this so hard?"

It's Saturday night, and I still haven't come up with how I'm going to do tomorrow. If someone was to walk into my room right now, they would have thought I had been trying to write a Shakespearian play.

Crumpled up paper lay scattered about the room. Most of which had miraculously made it close to the recycle bin. A trash can full of hard candy wrappers sitting at my feet. My desk covered in scribbled filled scratch paper, a half empty pack of gum, my computer, and my bible. My headphones had been yanked from my ears with the music still playing with pens laying about like pick up sticks. My communicator was sitting off to the side.

Me having reverted back into college kid mood had forgone my metallic game suit for my comfy clothes. Which boiled down to fuzzy slippers, giant sweatpants, my Emmaville sweater, and my Teemo hat.

Teemo, the cute fur ball of death form League of Legends. Yeah, he's cute and I have his hat. The hat is made from mink fabric which makes it a plushie hat. A green base with plush aviator googles and two tan pointed ears sewn on. I had won the hat in a raffle and added it to my personal comfort hat collection. Right next to my owl hat and grandma knit cap.

But dispit my best efforts , I've been mentally banging my head against the wall for the past few hours and now I was really tempted to perform the action in real life.

And here I thought planning a bible lesson for a small Sunday service would be easy, nope.

It all seemed so easy when I first planned hosting this week's Sunday bible study. Pick a few songs I liked, pick a nice section of verses to read with the rest of the group, and bota bing bota boom. You have a Sunday lesson.

Yeah right. That so simple. There's is a reason why Pastes and Youth Group Leader go to college for this.

You have to find ways relate what you want to convey to everyone in the room. You have to make sure that what you're saying stays true to the Lord. And if you are planning multiple lessons, they have to interconnect in some way.

But the thing was that I didn't know what to preach. I knew that the folks coming tomorrow were most likely Christians themselves, but I had no idea were they were in their personal journey. For all I know, there could be folks coming who aren't Christian but thought this way a good way to find out if the rumors were true. No stress from a well established church, just a small get together hosted by a fellow Transformer fans.

I know that I don't know my bible as well as I want to and I can't answer questions like Luke, my Youth Group Leader. I also hate public speaking cause I always gets a heavy throat when I'm presenting in front of a class. Even when I know everyone else is in the same boat that week.

"Transformers more than meets the eye. Autobots..."

And there goes my communicator, wounder who it is.

As quick glance it revealed it was Jazz trying to call me. And like any good college student, I took the perfect opportunity to procrastinate.

Karen-"Prowl speaking."

I must thank the techy that came up with a way for the communicators to my voice sound like Prowl's when talking. Makes it way easy to hid that I'm me.

Jazz- "Hey Prowler, what yay up to?"

Karen- "Prowl, and work."

"Workaholic."

Karen- "I am not. Was there anything specific you wanted to discuss with me?"

Jazz- "Sort of, I saw you got all those emails you were planning sent out and I was wondering when you plan on practicing forms with me and Steel again? You didn't seem to add that to the schedule this week."

Um... Scramble to pull up my calendars on my computer.

Karen- "My apologies Jazz, would Wednesday after lunch work for you?"

Jazz- "That works for me."

I was about to say cool but caught myself in time, "Excellent, was there anything else you wanted to discuss?"

Jazz- "Yes actually. You remember how you said Wheeljack hadn't exploded anything before we went to visit him and the gang?"

Karen- "Yes?"

Jazz- "Well you forgot to mention that Jack had tried to make some highgrade today."

Um…. Opps.

Karen- "Forgive me, it must have slipped my processor since it was an insignificant bang this morning. *Even if it managed to rock the boat/ship. I'll have to ask Preceptor of Skyfire about it* There was no injuries nor reports to highlight the incident. After going over a week's worth of reports on the daily Wheeljack attack, the facts of today's Wheeljack events blurred. Though, if I had recalled that small explosion, you and Steeljaw may not have prepare for the explosion that could have cause me serious injury. Thank you."

Jazz- "...Ok then… Do you mind if I submit a possible rules of conduct when approaching the labs, at Monday's Officers Meeting? You know, so no bot gets suckered into thinking they can waltz into the lab like you almost did."

Karen- "Not at all. This event has highlighted that we can't be laxed in anyway when it comes to Energon and other Cybertonian sciences. Agian I'm so sorry, sometimes I wish I was more like Prowl so stuff like that wouldn't happen. You know?"

There was an award pause in the conversation and I realized what I just said. We both knew we that we were only humans playing a game but we had within these short 6 *almost 7* days formed the thought process of our characters. It was incomplete for sure. But while playing the game, by trying to act as Prowl, I had made the others start to believe that I was actually Prowl. Prowl wouldn't forgot a seemingly small detail. Prowl, the cool and collected. Prowl the second in command of the army. Prowl the Autobot not Karen the Human.

Jazz knew it too. He had forgotten that I was human for a moment. It was brief, for he still treated me as human, like everyone did. But he still excepted the stoic all knowing Prowl.

The illusion that was the game had also worked all too well on me. I knew who some of the charcters were in real life, yet I still excepted them to act exactly like the characters form the shows, books, and comics. I knew better, but I still excepted Jazz to bug me, call me Prowler, and drag me away from my work because that is what was normal for the character. I excepted Jazz to act like a cinnamon roll but turn assassin when in battle. To hide his lethal energy behind the smirk that was his smile. To hide his feelings behind the crystalline visor.

But that wasn't the player. Jazz whoever he was, probably learned his secret ninja skills form movies and tv shows like *ick bad acting* Power Rangers.

I excepted the perfect performance from him when I couldn't even pull off a perfect Prowl.

Jazz- "Sort of... I'll see you tomorrow."

Karen- "Until tomorrow."

Hanging up, I mentally kicked myself. Why did I have to brake out of character so badly? Now Jazz whomever is probably scratching his head harder at the puzzle that was me. Urgh.

Focus Karen, you can worry about Jazz, LATER! Sunday, Bible study, focus on tomorrow's mini-lesson. And how can I do that when I'm distracted by Jazz?

The position of being bent over my desk and grabbing handfuls of hair in frustration is too natural after spending practically all of my life working on homework. No idea why the mild pain of increasing tension on my scalp was so comforting. Maybe it released some sort of weird comfort chemical like how crying makes you feel better after a while.

I need help with this. So what's a girl to do?

It wasn't much to change my hands position from entangled in my hair to clasped together in front of my bent over head.

Hi Jesus,

Sorry I haven't been praying as much this past week. It's so easy to get distracted. Thank you so much for this awesome opportunity. Everyone here is so cool and it's fun to pretend to be our favorite characters. Thank you for looking out for my family while I'm away. I miss them so much but I know I'll be able to see them again. Even though we'll hiding from the rest of the world, I want to continue Church stuff. You already know that I invited everyone to Bible study tomorrow morning but I'm stumped. I don't know what to say. Send the strength and courage to teach your way in a good way. Help me find the verses that are important for us to hear tomorrow. Send a hug my way when my voice starts to wobble. Thank you so much for today, for my friends and family, and thank you for this chance of a life time.

Amen

As I turned back towards my Bible, the perception of a warm hug wash over me. A sensation that I always associated with the Lord.

* * *

Hannah- "Good morning Karen. You have everything you need?"

Hannah was waiting patently in my opened doorway, while I gather my notes, Bible, and a bunch of blankets. She wasn't wearing the gamer suit, but was dressed in boots, jeans, and a semi-formal *Think tunic style* shirt that was a light purple, since I had stated in my email that today was casual dress.

I was dressed casual like her but with a band of my gamer suit disguised as a bracelet. My shirt wasn't fancy like hers but was an old Youth Group Retreat shirt. Which funny enough, stated Transformed along with the Autobot symbol with a cross for the nose. It was from one of my favorite summer camps. The entire week, was Transformers themed because the first of Micheal Bay's Transformers movies was released that year.

The youth leaders filmed scits of cardboard Optimus and Megatron fighting over "Sam's" *I don't think he was called Sam but I can't remember* faith. Megatron wanted to hide the bible from Sam, so OP had to protect him and help lead him towards the Lord and the Bible.

In the end, Megatron *Emptied of any and all youth leaders* was run over by a red Semi-Truck and his flat cardboard helm was hung on the lodge wall. Every year since, his helm resided until camp could no longer rent the site. I wonder want happened to that trophy. I know the different churches that went to the camp with my church started there own summer camps at different rented locations closer to their respected homes.

Karen- "Good morning to you too. I think so, but I want to stop by the dumbwaiters to grab the coffee and muffins I ordered for this morning. Can you carry this for me?"

Hannah- "Sure thing. *Grabs the basket full of blankets* So we get breakfast with our Sunday service?"

Karen- "Yep, don't want people getting loud stomach growls. Back home, there was a coffee bar with sweets every Sunday. It just seemed right to have one for our informal study."

Hannah- "And everyone will thank you for that. Are you nervous?"

Karen- "Why wouldn't I be? I feel like I'm going to present to the entire class and this will be my final grade. Silly I know, but can't stop the butterflies in my stomach."

Hannah- "Happens to everyone. What's today's lesson?"

Karen- "Not Transformation if that's what you were hoping for."

Hannah- "Why not? It would be funny."

I motioned for her to follow me towards the mess hall while we talked.

Karen- "I agree but I think it would be a fun one for a another time. It just didn't feel right at this moment."

Hannah- "So, you wanted something that hits closer to home?"

Karen- "Yes. I thought a few verses that touch on our situation would be nice."

Hannah- "Oh, there is verses in the Bible about a group of people disappearing from the world to play a game? I didn't know that."

I had to laugh at her joking tone.

Karen- "Not quit, but the verses I picked should work nicely. Hopefully the songs I picked will mesh nicely with today's lesson. I need to remember to thank my Church's team when I get back. It's hard to plan this stuff out."

Hannah- " I bet, how many songs are we doing today?"

Karen- "Three. Two before diving into the Bible and one for after discussion."

Hannah- "Huh, back home we just sang before the service."

Karen- "Really? It sounds weird to not have a song after service. But everyone does it differently."

We made it to the mess hall and grabbed the cart of muffins and coffee. There was room underneath so we stuffed my notes and the blankets under the food stuff.

When I had sent out the email earlier this week about today, I decided to have the little get together in the Greenhouse that had a park like space. The only issue with this was that our cart followed the universal rule of it's kind. Always have a bad wheel and never go where the drivers want you to go.

That and it's thin tiny wheels wouldn't survive the trip inside the greenhouse. So Hannah and I opted to transfer the stuff into a sturdier wagon that we had been using to carry the equipment for the aquaponics project.

We rolled up to the spot and found that someone was ready sitting under the tree I had picked out.

He was reading what looked like an old science fiction novel while his Bible along with a notebook sat patiently next to where he was sitting. Also with a standard brown shoes, blue jeans and belt, he wore a dark green polo shirt. His brunette hair was done in a simple cut which I formally nicknamed "Dad should go to his barber soon cut".

Ok it's a long name, but anything longer than an inch was considered to long for my Dad's hair when growing up. I only ever saw it longer than that when he didn't have drill that month.

He looked up at our approach and I managed to remember his name was Patrick.

Hannah- "Good Morning."

Patrick- "Good Morning. Would you two like some help?"

Karen- "Yes please."

While Hannah and Patrick set up the blankets like at a picnic, I rearranged the muffins and coffee on the wagon to make life easier for everyone.

Soon more people arrived and I soon became glad that I ordered too many muffins. Excluding me 16 people showed up. I can't believe that a little over a half of the players came today.

We all settled into something that kind of resembled a circle and I passes out the mini-pamphlets I had made the night before.

Karen- "Good morning, everybody. Thank you so much for being here, it means a lot. I thought it would be fun to start with introducing ourselves first. Then some worship songs followed by reading and discussing the verses I picked out for today's lesson. Afterwords we can plan for next weekend followed by one more song before we scatter. Sounds good?"

There was a few hearty yeses and sures along with the quite head nods.

"Ok then. Hi, I'm Karen as you all may know, I'm from Minnesota and 20 years old."

No idea why I stated my age, but it felt natural. Thankful, Hannah who was sitting on my right followed suit along with Kaylie. Then it was onto some of the other players I hadn't met properly yet.

"Hello, I'm Alex. I was born in Wisconsin but grew up in Utah. 19."

"Hi, I'm Greg. I'm from middle of nowhere but most people know it as Idaho. I'm 23"

"I'm Blake, and I'm from Virginia. I'll be 27 in July."

"Hi, my name is Scott. I call Alabama home and I'm 31."

"I'm Sarah and I'm from Wyoming."

We all ignored the fact that she didn't state her age. She did that at the slumber party on Friday.

"Met most of you, but I'm John. Live in Delaware most of my life and I'm 41."

"Hi, I'm Emily. I'm actually from here and I'm 16 years old. Which I think makes me the youngest player."

"I'm Nathan. I was born in Australia but my family moved here when I was 10. I'm 22 now."

"Kyle, form Maine and I'm 20."

"Hello I'm Michael. Like Nathan I was born overseas but moved here later in life. I originally from England. I'm also 20 years of age."

"My David. Born an raised jumping the border of New York and New Jersey. I'm 21."

"Hi I'm Michelle. I'm Texas and also 21."

"Hi I'm Brandon. I'm form Portland Oregon. I'll be 19 in August."

"My Patrick. I live in Michigan, where it's a stone's throw away from Canada. I'm 32."

And now it was back to me. A moment of stage fright until a deep breath brought me out of it.

Karen- "Ok, everyone still have their little cheat sheets? Good. You'll find today's songs and bible verses on them. The first song is Who Am I by Casting Crowns which will be followed by Here I am to Worship by Chris Tomlin and then we can get to today's lesson. Now hopeful the sound system behaves for us."

That got a laugh as I pulled out my communicator. I found that it could plug into the Greenhouse's sound system. Not unlike connect how a bluetooth could connect to your computer. But with any wireless connection there always the possible of it acting goofy.

But thankfully after 30 seconds, the communicator connected and Casting Crowns music began. To start out, the singing was a little rocky but soon everyone was in time with the song. Happy to say the pamphlets helped.

With the last notes of Here I am to Worship still sounding, I stop it before the last song could play. Then I pulled out my copy of the Bible. Everyone followed suit with some already turning towards the first verse.

Karen- "Ok guys, the first verse for today is Psalm 139:7-12. We can either have someone read the whole thing or we can taken turns reading the verses. Which sounds better to everyone?"

Everyone- "Turns!"

I had to bite back my laughter, "Cool beans, who would like to start us off?"

Patrick who was on my left spoke up, "I can start us off."

Karen- "Thanks Patrick."

Kyle- "Which direction are we reading?"

Karen- "Um.. That's a good question. Does clockwise sound good to everyone?"

(Clockwise from Karen's Perceptive: Patrick, Brandon, David, Micheal, Kyle, Nathon, Emily, John, Sarah, Scott, Blake, Greg, Alex, Kaylie, Hannah, and then Karen again.)

Seeing everyone's nods...

Deep Thought and Cliffhanger pop into existence. Deep Thought quickly whipes out a remote and pauses the scene. The colors fade and the sound grinds to a halt. The Scene seem to turn into a picture with film strip edging.

Cliffhanger- "Hold up before we go on. Allora has a quick letter for you guys. She says here,

"I'm not going to break up the Bible passage so just assume the next person in the circle is reading the next verse. Each verse will have a little number indicating that's it's a new verse. When looking up Bible passages the name of the book is given followed by the chapter number and then the verses being read. Feel free to follow along with your own copy, if you have one. If your uncomfortable reading this, that's fine. I'll mark were the bible passages are. This is a part of who I am and wanted to incorporate it into the story. I understand that everyone has different beliefs and I don't want to force them on anyone. I just kindly ask that you all respect mine. If there are any question or concerns please send me a private message. I'll do my best to answer them. Keep in mind I'm always learning and still developing my personal understanding of the Bible thank you. Side Note: the passages used in this story are going to be Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) unless stated otherwise by the characters.

Deep Thought- "I think that about covers it, what do you think Cliff?"

Cliffhanger- "Yep I think so. Let's get this on a roll."

Deep Thought presses the play button on his remote, and as him and Cliff fade away the scenes slowly returns to normal. First the sound then the color.

********************************************************Bible Stuff************************************************************************

Seeing everyone's nods, Patrick started us off.

Psalm 139:7-12

7 Where can I go to escape Your Spirit?

Where can I flee from Your presence?

8 If I go up to heaven, You are there;

if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there.

9 If I live at the eastern horizon

or settle at the western limits,

10 even there Your hand will lead me;

Your right hand will hold on to me.

11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me,

and the light around me will be night"

12 even the darkness is not dark to You.

The night shines like the day;

darkness and light are alike to You.

With Nathon ending the first section of today's reading, I started the first round of questions.

Karen- "Alright, what does this verse bring to mind?"

And right then there was what I call a cricket moment. Everyone was glancing at each other, waiting to see who would go first. I was about to give the little speech about "giving the gift of going second" my youth pastor liked to say during times like this, but thankfully Brandon tentatively raise his hand.

Karen- "Yes Brandon"

Brandon- "I'm going to go with the obvious, that He is always with us."

That brought a laugh out of everyone.

Emily- "That even when don't think that He's there, He is actually still with us."

Nathon- "We can't hide from him."

I kept nodding my head to these, when Blake brought up a question.

Blake - "What's up with Sheol, and the whole deal with Darkness will hide the writer? Why would he want to hide?"

Karen- "Ummm... I'm not sure about Sheol personally. I'd have to go back into earlier chapters to see the context for it. It might be a city. For the darkness hiding part, anyone have a different translation of the bible that they'd be willing to share Psalm 139:11-12?"

Hannah raised her, "I got one.

Psalm 139:11-12 New Living Translation

If I say, "For sure the darkness will cover me and the light around me will be night," even the darkness is not dark to You. And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are the same to You."

Blake- "So he wanted to hide?"

Kaylie- "I think what he meant was that even though he thought he was able to hide things he's not proud of by things that are righteous. The Lord would still be able to see both the good and the bad."

Patrick- "We got to keep in mind that this was written by King David. This would either have been written after his confession about Bathsheba to the Lord, or before he has done so."

Blake- "Ok, that helps."

Karen- "Thanks Patrick. Are there anymore qick inserts before heading over to the next verse? Nope, okay then. Next we'll be reading Psalm 9:10. Emily, are you alright with reading it for us?"

Emily- "Sure thing Karen."

Psalm 9:10

10 Those who know Your name trust in You

because You have not abandoned

those who seek You, Yahweh.

Karen- "Thanks Emily. Any thoughts about this verse? See any relationship between this and Psalm 139?"

Brandon- "He never abandons us."

Sarah- "Both of the verses are reaffirming that the Lord is always with us."

Scott- "What about people who don't seek him out or don't know nor trust his name?"

That was a really good question.

Karen- "How do I put this? I personally believe that Jesus is always with us even when we walk away from Him for a time. That He is always trying to bring us back to him. For people who don't believe nor trust him. I think Jesus doesn't abandon them. He personally seeks them out at every opportunity. Does that help?"

Scott- "I guess. I'll have to think about it for a while."

We all waited for a few seconds before Emily asked the next question.

Emily- "Why is the word Yahweh used instead of God, Lord, or Jesus?"

Karen- "Well Patrick just reminded us that Psalms was written by King David, and Jesus hadn't been born yet so his name would have been lefted out. I know Yahweh is another name for God, but I don't know it's historical reference. Patrick, would you by chance know?"

Patrick- "Nope, I just know my church was covering King David's story before I left for the Game."

Sarah- "It's the name the God used to reveal himself to Moses. Yahweh, I Am. I don't why it's used here. We would have to look into the history of the name more."

Karen- "Thank you Sarah, and thanks again Patrick. Anyone want to add something before I read the last passage of the day?"

Everyone either shook their heads or mumbled no. So I when ahead and read the last verse.

Cor 2 13:13

13 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

"We've been separated from the world, our daily routines thrown out the window. We are part of an amazing experience. Possibly one of the best in our lifetime. And it's easy to forget or put aside the Church stuff. The Jesus stuff,+10 pts. *See baffled looks* Old joke from Youth Group.

I know for me, it was easy to put aside my Bible in favor of Homework when I started going to college. And at times it felt like Jesus wasn't with me. But He is. He's with all of us. These verses remind us that He is always with us, waiting for us. That he loves us and that we shouldn't forget to seek Him. I don't want to put Him aside for this game but continue my journey with Him in all I do. It is my hope and prayer, that we all remember that He is with us and that we don't put He aside for this Game.

I would like to close us in Prayer then have one more song of worship before everyone leaves. Cool?"

Everyone- "Cool."

Karen- "Cool.

Dear Lord,

Thankful for this day and this chance of a life time. Thank you for bringing us together today to study your word. And bring glory to you. As well move forward this week and throughout this game. Remind us that you are with us and encourage us to continue our personal journeys with you. Send love and support our family and friends while we arr away. Thank you for everything you do.

Amen."

Everyone- "Amen"

Karen- "Alright guys, before we finish up with our last song today let's figure out next week. Do we want to meet here at the same time again? Or do we want to change it around a bit?"

Alex - "Here's cool but could we have it later in the morning? Like say 10ish"

Ok, Prowl a.k.a me is going to have to scheduling sleep in bots on Sudays. Cool.

Karen- "Sure, would 10:30 work for everyone?"

Everyone gave varying degrees of yes.

Karen- "Cool, let's finish off with He is With Us by Love and The Outcome."

************************************************Bible Stuff*********************************************************************************

* * *

With the song ended, nearly everyone left when I said there wasn't much left to clean up. Hannah, Patrick, and Kaylie did end up helping me clean up. David had jokely said see you all in game before he left so I had a pretty good idea at what everyone who wasn't on duty was doing.

Karen- "Thanks again for staying behind to help me clean up."

Hannah- "No problem."

Kaylie- "Thanks for setting all of this up."

Patrick- "Yes, thank you Karen."

Karen- "Thanks but I've got no clue for next week's Bible study. This is harder than I thought it would be."

Patrick- " I could put together next week's Bible study. I used to help host Bible Studies back home."

Karen- "Oh would you? Thank you so much."

Patrick- "No problem. I'll see you all next week."

The girls- "See you."

Kaylie and Hannah grabs a few of the items and we set off to return the gear to the Mess hall, the storage locker for the wagon, and my room for the blankets.

Kaylie- "I'm so excited for tomorrow!"

Hannah- "I know right. TRANSFORMATION! We're going to be cars!"

Karen- "I've been waiting forever. It's so cool to think about. How do you even drive if the entire car is you?"

Kaylie- "No idea. I do feel bad for Doc Raf though. He and the other officers have to get up super early for a meeting."

Hannah- "That stinks. I wonder if they would have to wait to eat breakfast until after the meeting?"

Right, I'll have to remember sneak a few bars of Granola out the kitchen before bedtime.

* * *

 **Author's Note(Mini-Story): After a long day on the tracks, the gang was chillaxing by a campfire.**

 **Giddy- "So, what's the situation, Allora? Get a bit overwhelmed?**

 **Cliffhanger- *aside* "Can anyone ever just be 'whelmed'?"**

 **Allora- "Ugh, so much stuff happened these past months, I don't even want to talk about it. I will say that the fanart contest is still up, but I'm changing the deadline to Chapter 50 since I can't keep track of the number of reviews anymore. I'd like to thank everyone who checked up on me during this break, and RoofSCat for sending fanart in. If you guys want me to take up my YouTube channel again, let me know, please. Also, if I'm gone for over a month, I give everyone permission to spam my inbox. That way you guys can motivate me to finish a chapter. More likely than not, I've gotten waylaid by my homework and other stuff when that happens. I'm going to try for a chapter once a week again, but that will likely change based on my workload later on. Again, thank you all for your patience and understanding during this time."**


End file.
